paisa
Americannoun
plural
paise-
Also an aluminum coin and monetary unit, one 100th of the rupee of India, Nepal, and Pakistan.
noun
Etymology
Origin of paisa
First recorded in 1880–85; from Hindi, Bengali paisā, probably from Sanskrit pāda “quarter” + aṃśa “quarter part”; see origin at pada ( def. )
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.
Viewers emerging from theatres call it "paisa vasool" - a punchy Hindi phrase for "you got your money's worth".
From BBC • Mar. 24, 2026
While a majority of his peers were feeding from reggaeton’s roots in Puerto Rico, he decided to bring his paisa, or Medellín-born slang and style to breed a more personal brand of perreo.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 6, 2025
Arboleda notes that the mutated reelin protein binds to the same receptors as a protein called APOE, which is also associated with Alzheimer’s disease in people who do not have the paisa mutation.
From Scientific American • May 17, 2023
At times, it is less than one paisa for large quantities, he said, suggesting the RBI has been fairly active, including on Wednesday.
From Reuters • Feb. 22, 2023
Sometimes we bought her smoked corn on the cob sprinkled with lemon juice, or two paisa caramels.
From "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri
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.
