currency
- 01 B1 Intermediate
the system of money that a country uses.
a system of money in general use in a particular country.
Simple“When you travel to Japan, you will need to exchange your money for the local currency.”
In context“The sudden devaluation of the national currency led to a sharp increase in the cost of imported goods and services.”
UsageCountable when referring to different national systems; uncountable when referring to the concept of money.
- 02 C1 Advanced
the state of being commonly accepted, used, or believed by many people.
the quality or state of being current; general acceptance, recognition, or prevalence.
Simple“The idea that we only use ten percent of our brains still has a lot of currency today.”
In context“The theory gained currency among sociologists in the late nineties, though it has since been challenged by more recent empirical data.”
UsageUsually uncountable in this sense.
SynonymsAntonymsobsolescence
Borrowed from Medieval Latin currentia, from Latin currēns, from currō. By surface analysis, current + -cy.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.