Meaning & use
shekels
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“shekels” is a form of “shekel”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
nounplural
Units of Israel's currency; one unit is a shekel.
Grammar: Plural of shekel: ten shekels, one shekel.
Patterns
- ten shekels
- pay in shekels
The bus ticket costs six shekels.
She changed her dollars into shekels at the airport.
Prices in the market were listed in shekels.
nounplural
An old unit of weight and coin used in the ancient Middle East, mentioned in the Bible.
Grammar: Often appears in historical or religious contexts.
Patterns
- shekels of silver
The story says he paid four hundred shekels of silver for the field.
Archaeologists found shekels stamped with ancient symbols.
nounpluralinformalhumorous
Money in general, used jokingly.
Grammar: Humorous; often used when talking about wealth: counting his shekels.
Patterns
- rake in the shekels
He spent his weekend counting his shekels.
The new app is raking in the shekels.
Word forms
| singular | shekel |
|---|
Common combinations
- new shekel
- The new shekel replaced the older currency in 1985.
- pay in shekels
- Tourists can pay in shekels or cards.
- thirty shekels
- The ticket costs thirty shekels.
- shekels of silver
- The text counts payment in shekels of silver.
- rake in the shekels
- Their cafe raked in the shekels in summer.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
- agora noun
- a small Israeli coin, one hundredth of a shekel
Commonly confused: shekels or shackles?
shekels vs shackles
Shackles are metal rings used to chain someone. Shekels are money, and 'sheckles' is a misspelling.
Practice
Which spelling is correct for the Israeli currency?
Choose one answer.
The correct spelling is shekels, with k-e-l. The other forms are common misspellings.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “shekels”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.