dime
[dahym]
- a cupronickel-clad coin of the U.S. and Canada, the 10th part of a dollar, equal to 10 cents.
- Slang.
- ten dollars.
- a 10-year prison sentence.
- dime bag.
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- a dime a dozen, Informal. so abundant that the value has decreased; readily available.
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Origin of dime
1350–1400; Middle English < Anglo-French, Old French di(s)me < Latin decima tenth part, tithe, noun use of feminine of decimus tenth, derivative of decem ten
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
revealquarterssilvercopperpenniesdiscloseshowunmaskstoolevincemanifestinformtattlespillsnitchsinguncovertellsquealdimeExamples from the Web for dime
Contemporary Examples
Antoine himself had recently been arrested on a six-year-old warrant for a dime bag of weed.
In a country where talk is “cheap” and opinions are “a dime a dozen,” we give the facts special privileges and special status.
He spun three times, stopped on a dime, and flashed the familiar “jazz hands” pose before walking away.
We've turned on the dime in terms of our expectation for them.
The first movie—3:10 to Yuma—starred Glenn Ford and came from a 1953 story that had appeared in Dime Western.
Historical Examples
They were mostly Beadle's Dime Novels, which had a great sale at the time.
In the Midst of AlarmsRobert Barr
I won't be back for dinner, so you can put in your time reading my Dime Novels.
In the Midst of AlarmsRobert Barr
Josie was offering him a dime; he accepted it without question.
The Fortune HunterLouis Joseph Vance
"The hell with you," Danny said to Mattup, and gave him a dime and a penny.
Goodbye, Dead Man!Tom W. Harris
Why do you stand there starin' at me as if I was some sort of dime show curiosity?
The Woman-HatersJoseph C. Lincoln
dime
- a coin of the US and Canada, worth one tenth of a dollar or ten cents
- a dime a dozen very cheap or common
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Word Origin
C14: from Old French disme, from Latin decimus tenth, from decem ten
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for dime
n.
chosen 1786 as name for U.S. 10 cent coin, from dime "a tenth, tithe" (late 14c.), from Old French disme (Modern French dîme) "a tenth part," from Latin decima (pars) "tenth (part)," from decem "ten" (see ten).
The verb meaning "to inform" (on someone) is 1960s, from the then-cost of a pay phone call. A dime a dozen "almost worthless" first recorded 1930. Phrase stop on a dime attested by 1954 (a dime being the physically smallest unit of U.S. currency).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with dime
dime
In addition to the idiom beginning with dime
- dime a dozen
also see:
- drop a dime
- get off the dime
- not worth a dime
on a dime.
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.