dirham

American  

[dir-ham, dih-ram, dir-uhm] / dɪrˈhæm, dɪˈræm, ˈdɪr əm /

noun

1. a money of account of Iraq, one 20th of a dinar, equal to 50 fils.

2. a money of account of Kuwait, one 10th of a dinar, equal to 100 fils.

3. a brass-clad steel coin and monetary unit of Libya, one 100th of a dinar: replaced the millieme in 1971.

4. a cupronickel coin and monetary unit of Morocco, equal to 100 centimes. DH.

5. a bronze or cupronickel coin of Qatar, one 100th of a riyal.

6. a money of account of Tunisia, one 10th of a dinar, equal to 100 millimes.

7. a cupronickel coin and monetary unit of the United Arab Emirates, equal to 100 fils.

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dirham British  

/ ˈdɪəræm /

noun

1. the standard monetary unit of Morocco, divided into 100 centimes

2. the standard monetary unit of the United Arab Emirates, divided into 10 dinars and 100 fils

3. 1. a Kuwaiti monetary unit worth one tenth of a dinar and 100 fils

   2. a Tunisian monetary unit worth one tenth of a dinar and 100 millimes

   3. a Qatari monetary unit worth one hundredth of a riyal

   4. a Libyan monetary unit worth one thousandth of a dinar

4. any of various silver coins minted in North African countries at different periods

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Etymology

Origin of dirham

First recorded in 1965–70; from Arabic dirham, from Greek dráchma; see drachma

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

dirham

The Emirati dirham is pegged to the dollar and backed by foreign-currency reserves of $270 billion, but the war has put it under pressures from capital-flight risks, stock-market volatility and other disruptions, analysts said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 19, 2026

The price of karak was 50 fils for a quarter-century, rising to 1 dirham in 2004 as Dubai rushed to build its booming desert skyline.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 24, 2022

The euro made up under a quarter and the Emirati dirham around one-sixth, the data from the trade source showed.

From Reuters ● Aug. 10, 2022

“An uncle comes to visit and gives a dirham to each child. They immediately come here and buy this. But it is not good food, these biscuits. And then the package ends here.”

From Washington Post ● Aug. 29, 2019

The baker was delighted with my sagacity, and the woman also, marvelling with excessive marvel at what had happened, took back her bad dirham and paid another in exchange.

From The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night — Volume 13 by Sir Richard Francis Burton

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