Meaning & use
money order
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
A document you buy for a set amount, which the person named on it can exchange for that money, used instead of a personal check or cash.
Grammar: Takes a: she paid with a money order.
Patterns
- pay by money order
- buy a money order for an amount
She bought a money order at the post office to pay her rent.
The seller only accepts a money order, not a personal check.
He mailed a money order for fifty dollars to the school.
Word forms
| plural | money orders |
|---|
Common combinations
- buy a money order
- I bought a money order at the grocery store.
- pay by money order
- You can pay by money order or cash.
- cash a money order
- He cashed the money order at his bank.
- international money order
- An international money order can be sent abroad.
- send a money order
- They sent a money order by mail.
Synonyms and how they differ
- postal order
- Postal order is the British term for a similar post-office product and is not used in the US.
- cashier's check
- A cashier's check is issued by a bank, usually for larger sums, whereas money orders are sold at many shops.
- bank draft
- A bank draft is a bank-issued payment for larger or international transfers, a more formal option than a money order.
- wire transfer
- A wire transfer moves money electronically and quickly, while a money order is a paper item.
Word family
Commonly confused: money order or cashier's check?
money order vs cashier's check
A cashier's check comes from a bank, whereas a money order is sold by post offices and shops.
Practice
The landlord does not take personal checks, so I paid the rent with a ____.
Choose one answer.
A money order is prepaid and can replace a personal check. The other options are not payment methods.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “money order”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.