dime

noun

ˈdīm 

1

a

: a coin of the U.S. worth ¹/₁₀ dollar

b

: a petty sum of money

2

: a Canadian 10-cent piece

3

slang : a packet containing 10 dollars worth of an illicit drug (such as marijuana)

called also dime bag

4

informal : money provided to pay expenses

Executives in a perk-rich environment get used to living on the company's dime [=on the company's money; at the company's expense]

—James Surowiecki

They hopped a Greyhound, on their own dime, and had such a good time they stayed on …

—Mark Ribowsky

The boys are worthless, feckless layabouts, living off David's dime.

—Whitney Pastorek

5

informal

a

basketball : a pass by a player who enables a teammate to make a basket

Harden ended up recording his first triple-double of the season with 44 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists. He delivered seven dimes to Capela …

—Tim MacMahon

—often used with drop

Not only was he scoring in the post and grabbing rebounds, he also was dropping dimes [=making passes to enable teammates to score] including a flashy pass to Chance Coyle.

—Hendrix Magley

b

American football : an accurate pass by a quarterback to a receiver

—often used with drop

He spun out of sacks and threw on the run, dropping dimes down the field that few quarterbacks in history could be trusted to deliver.

—Ryan Kartje

Phrases

a dime a dozen

: so plentiful or commonplace as to be of little esteem or slight value

on a dime

1

: in a very small area

these cars can turn on a dime

2

: instantly

Synonyms

• chicken feed [slang]
• chump change
• hay
• mite
• peanuts
• pin money
• pittance
• shoestring
• song
• two cents

Examples of dime in a Sentence

the beauty of this deal is that all the extras won't cost you a dime

Recent Examples on the Web

Kentucky uses penny breakage while most states, such as California, round down to the dime. —John Cherwa, Los Angeles Times, 5 May 2024

Lawson recalls Koum replied that the fee was critical because chat apps were a dime a dozen. —Steven Levy, WIRED, 3 May 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, tenth part, tithe, from Anglo-French disme, dime, from Latin decima, from feminine of decimus tenth, from decem ten — more at ten

First Known Use

1786, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing dime

• a dime a dozen
• dime novel
• dime store
• drop a dime
• five-and-dime
• half dime
• nickel-and-dime
• not cost a dime/nickel
• on a dime

Kids Definition

dime

noun

ˈdīm 

: a U.S. coin worth ⅒ dollar

Etymology

Middle English dime "a tenth part," from early French dime (same meaning), derived from Latin decimus "a tenth part," from decem "ten" — related to december, decimal, dozen