negotiable instrument

noun [C]

Definition

› MONEY a written order or promise to pay a fixed amount of money on demand or at a particular time, for example, a cheque or banknote: Payment could be made without the transfer of currency, and negotiable instruments acted as a means of credit.

› STOCK MARKET, FINANCE an investment that can be traded on a financial market: When bonds and shares are treated as negotiable instruments, an innocent holder for value may often acquire a better title than his predecessor had.

(Definition of negotiable instrument noun from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)