dirham

noun

dir·​ham ˈdir-həm 

1

: the basic monetary unit of Morocco and United Arab Emirates see Money Table

2

: a monetary subunit of the dinar (Libya) and riyal (Qatar) see dinar, riyal at Money Table

Examples of dirham in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Driverless cars and flying taxis may still be on the agenda, but the new 55 dirham ($15) route from Abu Dhabi to Fujairah — cutting about 40 minutes of drive time — has long been anticipated by road-weary residents. — Kelsey Warner, semafor.com, 24 June 2026

But the flow of dirhams and riyals doesn’t stop there. — Lorraine Ali, Los Angeles Times, 30 Apr. 2026

During epidemics, crises, emergencies, or disasters, those figures double to a minimum of two years and 200,000 UAE dirhams. — Dana Alomar, Wired News, 28 Apr. 2026

Transactions are being carried out by depositing Indian rupees into special overseas bank accounts held by Russian sellers which are then being converted into UAE’s dirham or the Chinese yuan, the people said, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. — Saikat Das, Bloomberg, 25 Mar. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Arabic, from Latin drachma drachma

First Known Use

1788, in the meaning defined at sense 1