Meaning & use
cash dispenser
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountableBritish
A machine, usually set into a wall outside a bank, that gives out banknotes when you insert a card and enter a PIN.
Grammar: Often used with at or from: money from a cash dispenser.
Patterns
- withdraw money from a cash dispenser
There was a long queue at the cash dispenser on payday.
The cash dispenser ran out of twenty-pound notes by Saturday night.
He put his card in the cash dispenser and typed in his PIN.
Word forms
| plural | cash dispensers |
|---|
Common combinations
- use a cash dispenser
- I used a cash dispenser near the station.
- outdoor cash dispenser
- An outdoor cash dispenser had been damaged overnight.
- cash dispenser fee
- The cash dispenser fee was higher abroad.
- broken cash dispenser
- A broken cash dispenser left travelers stranded.
- cash dispenser card
- Insert your cash dispenser card first.
Synonyms and how they differ
- cash machine
- Cash machine is the most common everyday British phrase, while cash dispenser sounds a little more official.
- ATM
- ATM is the standard American term and also covers machines that take deposits.
- cashpoint
- Cashpoint is a British brand-turned-common-word, and it is more casual than cash dispenser.
Word family
- dispense verb
- To give out something from a machine or container.
- dispenser noun
- A device that gives out a set amount of something.
Commonly confused: cash dispenser or cash register?
cash dispenser vs cash register
A cash register is a till in a shop used to record sales, not a machine that gives customers money.
Practice
Which word describes the wall machine that gives out notes when you enter a PIN?
Choose one answer.
A cash dispenser pays out money. A cash register is used by shop staff to record sales.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “cash dispenser”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.