Meaning & use
greenbacks
Last updated
“greenbacks” is a form of “greenback”.
Meaning
nounpluralinformalAmerican
United States paper money, especially dollar bills, named for the green ink on the back.
Grammar: Plural of greenback and often used as a plural for money: he counted the greenbacks.
Patterns
- a wad of greenbacks
- pay in greenbacks
He pulled a thick wad of greenbacks from his coat pocket.
Tourists were happy to pay in greenbacks instead of the local currency.
The shop owner counted the greenbacks twice before locking the till.
Word forms
| singular | greenback |
|---|
Common combinations
- wad of greenbacks
- He paid the driver with a wad of greenbacks.
- stack of greenbacks
- A stack of greenbacks sat on the desk.
- in crisp greenbacks
- The prize was paid in crisp greenbacks.
- hand over greenbacks
- She handed over the greenbacks without a word.
Synonyms and how they differ
- bills
- Bills is the neutral American term for paper money, while greenbacks sounds casual and a little dated.
- dollars
- Dollars names the currency in general and does not suggest paper notes in particular.
- cash
- Cash covers any physical money, whereas greenbacks refers only to US notes.
- banknotes
- Banknotes is the formal and British term and is not tied to any country's currency.
Opposites
Word family
- greenback noun
- a single US dollar bill
- green noun
- informal word for money in American slang
- greenbacker noun
- a supporter of paper money in 19th-century American politics
Commonly confused: greenbacks or greenbacks vs green backs?
greenbacks vs greenbacks vs green backs
Written as two words, green backs simply describes things that are green on the back, while greenbacks is the word for paper money.
Practice
A traveler says, I paid in greenbacks. What did the traveler use?
Choose one answer.
Greenbacks is informal for US dollar bills. The other options do not match the green notes.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “greenbacks”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.