1
a
: a coin of the U.S. worth ⅒ 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
James SurowieckiThey hopped a Greyhound, on their own dime, and had such a good time they stayed on …—Mark Ribowsky
Mark RibowskyThe boys are worthless, feckless layabouts, living off David's dime.—Whitney Pastorek
Whitney Pastorek5
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 dropTim MacMahonNot 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
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
Ryan Kartje
see also:
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
When a player stopped on a dime, their shoe’s rubbery sole would slip slightly—many times per second in the same stop-and-start pattern—producing a squeak.
—Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 25 Feb. 2026
MacKenzie-Childs’ Amazon storefront is stocked with luxe home decor, kitchen goods, and more that don’t cost a dime over $100.
—Alicia Geigel, Southern Living, 24 Feb. 2026
One attempts to protect bottle redemption centers from fraudsters returning bottles from states with nickel deposits to Connecticut, which pays a dime.
—Mark Pazniokas, Hartford Courant, 24 Feb. 2026
The call took place in the locker room just after the win, and was co-ordinated by FBI director and longtime hockey enthusiast Kash Patel (the FBI director partying with a hockey team on the taxpayer’s dime is a topic for another time).
—Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 23 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for dime
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Joseph Howlett, Scientific American, 25 Feb. 2026
MacKenzie-Childs’ Amazon storefront is stocked with luxe home decor, kitchen goods, and more that don’t cost a dime over $100.
—Alicia Geigel, Southern Living, 24 Feb. 2026
One attempts to protect bottle redemption centers from fraudsters returning bottles from states with nickel deposits to Connecticut, which pays a dime.
—Mark Pazniokas, Hartford Courant, 24 Feb. 2026
The call took place in the locker room just after the win, and was co-ordinated by FBI director and longtime hockey enthusiast Kash Patel (the FBI director partying with a hockey team on the taxpayer’s dime is a topic for another time).
—Elizabeth Logan, Glamour, 23 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for dime
Cite this Entry
“Dime.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dime. Accessed 28 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
