nickel-and-dime

[nik-uhl-uhn-dahym]

adjective

1. of little or no importance; trivial; petty.

   a nickel-and-dime business that soon folded.

verb (used with object)

nickel-and-dimed, nickeled-and-dimed , nickel-and-diming, nickeling-and-diming .

1. 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.

2. to hinder, annoy, or harass with trivialities or nonessentials.

   to be nickeled-and-dimed by petty criticisms.

Word History and Origins

Origin of nickel-and-dime¹

First recorded in 1965–70

Example Sentences

But don’t nickel-and-dime your enjoyment of your life in order to punish yourself for financial decisions.

Read more on MarketWatch

Many teams are trying to slow down Kansas City’s offense by playing zone defenses, but the tradeoff is watching Travis Kelce nickel-and-dime his way down the field.

Read more on Washington Times

After years of allegedly running other nickel-and-dime scams, Santos appears to have concluded, for good reason, that the GOP donation pool is composed of easily shaken down marks.

Read more on Salon

“This is meant to nickel-and-dime, audit and harass America’s small businesses and families, who they know cannot afford the legal fees to fight this army,” Malliotakis said.

Read more on Seattle Times

Maybe they result in some nickel-and-dime gains for businesses from people who throw in the towel and pay whatever’s being demanded.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• frivolous 
• lesser 
• minor 
• narrow-minded