dollar

[dol-er]

noun

1. a paper money, silver or cupronickel coin, and monetary unit of the United States, equal to 100 cents. $

2. a silver or nickel coin and monetary unit of Canada, equal to 100 cents. $

3. 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.

4. Also called ringgit. a cupronickel coin and monetary unit of Brunei, equal to 100 sen.

5. ringgit.

6. a thaler.

7. a peso.

8. Levant dollar.

9. yuan.

10. British Slang.,  (formerly)

    1. five-shilling piece; crown.

    2. the sum of five shillings.

dollar

/ ˈdɒlə /

noun

1. the standard monetary unit of the US and its dependencies, divided into 100 cents

2. 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

3. informal,  (formerly) five shillings or a coin of this value

4. informal,  to look or feel extremely well

Word History and Origins

Origin of dollar¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of dollar¹

C16: from Low German daler, from German Taler, Thaler, short for Joachimsthaler coin made from metal mined in Joachimsthal Jachymov, town now in the Czech Republic

Idioms and Phrases

• feel like a million dollars
• look like a million dollars
• you can bet your ass (bottom dollar)

Example Sentences

The companies didn’t disclose financial terms of the deal, but The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that the arrangement will be worth multiple billions of dollars.

Read more on Barron's

Lisa Shalett, chief investment officer at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management, has a different take, tied in part to what she sees as a way for governments to “challenge the dollar’s stranglehold on global money movements.”

Read more on Barron's

The new agreement will be worth multiple billions of dollars, people familiar with the matter said.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Since the bankruptcy filing, newly appointed directors and restructuring advisers have revealed billions of dollars of off-balance sheet debt.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Prices edging a dollar higher—about 22% above the 30-year average—would allow them to hit their return goals for about five years, he said.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• currency 
• greenback