Pound sign

How to type it

Mac: Option + 3. Windows: Alt + 0163 on the number pad.

Common uses

• The pound sign is the symbol for the British pound, as in £25.
• Prices in the United Kingdom use it, with the sign placed before the amount.

Less common uses

• The £ is a stylized capital L, from libra, the Latin word for scales or pound weight.
• The abbreviation lb for the pound as a weight comes from the same Latin word.
• In American English, pound sign usually means #, because # was long used to write pounds of weight, as in 5# of flour.