The lira was the unit of money that was used in Italy. Turkey and Syria also have a unit of money called a lira. In 2002 it was replaced by the euro in Italy.
It only cost me 400,000 lire.
Coin-operated telephones took 100, 200 and 500 lire coins.
The lira was also used to refer to the Italian currency system, and it also sometimes refers to the currency system of other countries which use the lira.
The franc had been under no pressure compared with the lira.
lira in British English
(ˈlɪərə, Italian ˈliːra)
nounWord forms: plurallire (ˈlɪərɪ, Italian ˈliːre) or liras
1.
the former standard monetary unit of Italy, San Marino, and the Vatican City, divided into 100 centesimi; replaced by the euro in 2002
2. Also called: pound
the standard monetary unit of Turkey, divided into 100 kuruş
3.
the former standard monetary unit of Malta, divided into 100 cents or 1000 mils; replaced by the euro in 2008
Word origin
Italian, from Latin lībra pound
lira in American English
(ˈlɪrə)
nounWord forms: pluralˈlire (ˈlɪreɪ) or ˈliras
1.
a.
the former basic monetary unit of Italy, San Marino, and Vatican City, superseded in 2002 by the euro
b.
the former basic monetary unit of Malta, superseded in 2008 by the euro
2.
the basic monetary unit of Turkey
Word origin
It < L libra, a balance, pound
Examples of 'lira' in a sentence
lira
Is it better to make a dollar loan or an Italian lira loan?
Charles A. D'Ambrosio & Stewart D. Hodges & Richard Brealey & Stewart Myers Principles of Corporate Finance (1991)