dollar
Americannoun
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a paper money, silver or cupronickel coin, and monetary unit of the United States, equal to 100 cents. $
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a silver or nickel coin and monetary unit of Canada, equal to 100 cents. $
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any of the monetary units of various other nations, as Australia, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, East Timor, Fiji, Guyana, Hong Kong, Jamaica, Liberia, New Zealand, Singapore, the Solomon Islands, Trinidad and Tobago, and Zimbabwe, equal to 100 cents.
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Also called ringgit. a cupronickel coin and monetary unit of Brunei, equal to 100 sen.
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a thaler.
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a peso.
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yuan.
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British Slang. (formerly)
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five-shilling piece; crown.
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the sum of five shillings.
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noun
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the standard monetary unit of the US and its dependencies, divided into 100 cents
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the standard monetary unit, comprising 100 cents, of the following countries or territories: Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, Brunei, Canada, the Cayman Islands, Dominica, East Timor, Ecuador, El Salvador, Fiji, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Hong Kong, Jamaica, Kiribati, Liberia, Malaysia, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Namibia, Nauru, New Zealand, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Taiwan, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, and Zimbabwe
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informal (formerly) five shillings or a coin of this value
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informal to look or feel extremely well
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of dollar
First recorded in 1545–55; earlier daler, from Low German, Dutch daler; cognate with German Taler, short for Joachimsthaler, a silver coin minted in Joachimsthal ( Czech Jáchymov ) in Bohemia
Explanation
Kaching! A dollar is a unit of currency or money. The United States, Canada, and Australia all use the dollar. The symbol for a dollar is $. If you say someone worships the all mighty dollar, that means they’re greedy. A dollar bill is the equivalent of 100 cents. There are also coins with the value of a dollar, although these are used less often in the US than in other countries. Sometimes dollar is shorthand for money, like when the Wu-Tang Clan raps, “Cash rules everything around me, dollar dollar bill y’all.” The word dollar comes from the German thaler, an early unit of German currency.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The currency continues to hover around 163.70 to the dollar.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
The Singapore dollar strengthened slightly against the greenback after the decision.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
The dollar is at 163.56 yen, down from Y163.78 as of Friday’s Tokyo stock market close.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
The Singapore dollar is managed against an undisclosed basket of currencies belonging to the city-state’s major trading partners and allowed to fluctuate within a policy band.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
I filled out the entry form, put Annie’s poem in the envelope, and rubbed my lucky Susan B. Anthony dollar against it.
From "The Million Dollar Shot" by Dan Gutman
As governments and companies spend hundreds of billions of dollars on developing AI capabilities, some analysts have questioned whether the technology can become profitable enough to recoup such huge investments.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Paramount must keep the deal’s financing intact while preparing for potentially billions of dollars in ticking-fee payments to Warner shareholders beginning in October.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 27, 2026
That logic was already suspect, as it’s tough to claim that taxpayer dollars are being “wasted” on technologies aimed at keeping the planet suitable for human habitation.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
"We are taking in a lot of money. Billions and billions of dollars," he said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
They even pay us in advance—a hundred and twenty dollars in cash.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
