nickel-and-dime
Americanadjective
verb (used with object)
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to expose to financial hardship or bankruptcy by the accumulation of small expenses, bills, etc..
We're being nickel-and-dimed to death by these small weekly expenses.
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to hinder, annoy, or harass with trivialities or nonessentials.
to be nickeled-and-dimed by petty criticisms.
Etymology
Origin of nickel-and-dime
First recorded in 1965–70
Vocabulary lists containing nickel-and-dime
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.
The auditor said he isn’t out to nickel and dime anyone.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026
Airlines, especially want to nickel and dime for every little thing.
From Slate • Aug. 18, 2025
“He’s been working in nickel and dime situations, but to come in and have that extended time in there, and make the plays he made — he sure did a nice job in there.”
From Seattle Times • Jan. 23, 2024
Airlines nickel and dime us while providing worse service, but what are we going to do—not fly?
From Slate • Dec. 20, 2023
"Okay, today in the penny, nickel, and dime categories, we got the old stuff."
From "Look Both Ways" by Jason Reynolds
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.
