nickel-and-dime

[ nik-uhl-uhn-dahym ]

/ ˈnɪk əl ənˈdaɪm /

Informal.

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See synonyms for nickel-and-dime on Thesaurus.com

adjective

of little or no importance; trivial; petty: a nickel-and-dime business that soon folded.

verb (used with object), nick·el-and-dimed or nick·eled-and-dimed,nick·el-and-dim·ing or nick·el·ing-and-dim·ing.

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.

to hinder, annoy, or harass with trivialities or nonessentials: to be nickeled-and-dimed by petty criticisms.

QUIZZES

THINK YOU’VE GOT A HANDLE ON THIS US STATE NICKNAME QUIZ?

Did you ever collect all those state quarters? Put them to good use on this quiz about curious state monikers and the facts around them.

Question 1 of 8

Mississippi’s nickname comes from the magnificent trees that grow there. What is it?

The Sunflower State

The Evergreen State

The Magnolia State

The Mockingbird State

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Origin of nickel-and-dime

First recorded in 1965–70

Example sentences from the Web for nickel-and-dime

As an example of good science-and-society policymaking, the history of fluoride may be more of a cautionary tale.
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers|Michael Schulson|July 27, 2016|DAILY BEAST
As this list shows, punishments typically run to a short-ish jail sentence and/or a moderately hefty fine.
In Defense of Blasphemy|Michael Tomasky|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Yes, Byrd—dead four-and-a-half years now—was a Kleagle in the Ku Klux Klan.
Steve Scalise and the Right’s Ridiculous Racial Blame Game|Michael Tomasky|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Later that night, that same black-and-red banner would be seen again—in the column of marchers chanting for dead cops.
The Monsters Who Screamed for Dead Cops|Jacob Siegel|December 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The kids are out of school, Mom is out of get-up-and-go, Dad is out of work.
Congress’ Gift That Keeps on Giving|P. J. O’Rourke|December 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She also practises etching, pen-and-ink drawing, as well as crayon and water-color sketching.
Women in the fine arts, from the Seventh Century B.C. to the Twentieth Century A.D.|Clara Erskine Clement
No law of that country must exceed in words the number of letters in their alphabet, which consists only in two-and-twenty.
Gulliver's Travels|Jonathan Swift
Mr. Spurrell came down to see a horse, and we shall be very glad to have the benefit of his opinion by-and-by.
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 107, November 3, 1894|Various
They were eaten too quickly, in long gulps of four-and-twenty hours at a time.
Kipling Stories and Poems Every Child Should Know, Book II|Rudyard Kipling
He walked over to the table and mixed two tumblers of whiskey-and-soda, wondering why he had not thought of it before.
Ancestors|Gertrude Atherton

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nickel-and-dime

adjective

verb (used with object), nick·el-and-dimed or nick·eled-and-dimed,nick·el-and-dim·ing or nick·el·ing-and-dim·ing.

QUIZZES

THINK YOU’VE GOT A HANDLE ON THIS US STATE NICKNAME QUIZ?

Origin of nickel-and-dime

Example sentences from the Web for nickel-and-dime

MEANINGS

WORD GAMES

LEARN

WRITING

WORD OF THE DAY

nickel-and-dime

adjective

verb (used with object), nick·el-and-dimed or nick·eled-and-dimed,nick·el-and-dim·ing or nick·el·ing-and-dim·ing.

QUIZZES

THINK YOU’VE GOT A HANDLE ON THIS US STATE NICKNAME QUIZ?

Origin of nickel-and-dime

Words related to nickel-and-dime

Example sentences from the Web for nickel-and-dime