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definitions

dollar-a-year

[dol-er-uh yeer]
adjective
  1. of or being an official or employee, especially a federal appointee, who receives a token annual salary, usually of one dollar: a dollar-a-year man.

Origin of dollar-a-year

An Americanism dating back to 1915–20
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for dollar-a-year

Contemporary Examples of dollar-a-year

  • I know a few folks—like Vikram Pandit at Citigroup and even Edward Liddy at AIG—have jumped in to serve as dollar-a-year CEOs.

    The Daily Beast logo
    Give the Bonuses Back—Or Else

    Matt Miller

    March 16, 2009

Historical Examples of dollar-a-year

  • As a substitute Blodgett spoke of some dollar-a-year work in Washington.

    The Guarded Heights

    Wadsworth Camp

  • "Because they'll make you a dollar-a-year man and we're not in this to make any stinking dollar a year," Harry Bettis said.