dime-store

adjective \ ˈdīm-ˌstȯr \

|Updated on: 4 Jul 2018

Definition of dime-store

1 : inexpensive

dime-store perfume

2 : tawdry, second-rate

dime-store philosophy

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First Known Use of dime-store

1938

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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dime store

noun

Definition of dime store

: five-and-ten

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Recent Examples of dime store from the Web

To many Arlington residents, this five-and-dime store has felt like home for 64 years, a shop filled with nostalgia in the form of licorice pipes, candy cigarettes, rubber chickens, washboards, velcro, and more.

— elise takahama, BostonGlobe.com, "Arlington’s five-and-dime shop to close after 64 years; patrons bid bittersweet goodbye," 22 June 2018
Kmart has its roots in a five-and-dime store S.S. Kresge founded in 1897 in Memphis, Tennessee.

— john sowell, idahostatesman, "Shoppers lament loss of Kmart as its last Treasure Valley store prepares to close," 1 June 2018
His mother, the former Ida Cohen, worked in a dime store.

— bryan marquard, BostonGlobe.com, "Stanley Lieberson, Harvard sociologist who studied language, race, and first names, dies at 84," 31 May 2018
The 1907 Italianate building that once housed the five-and-dime store is now Object Limited, a shoppable boutique lodging.

— roger naylor, azcentral, "Best hotels in Bisbee, AZ: From plush to retro-kitsch to maybe haunted," 20 Apr. 2018
When the sit-ins at Woolworth's dime store downtown made the news, her parents' half-truths started to come undone.

— USA TODAY, "Nashville and the Destiny of Dissent," 15 Apr. 2018
The home was originally owned by Charles Van Dusen, an executive for the S.S. Kresge dime store chain that spawned Kmart.

— Detroit Free Press, "Driving Detroit 2017: Has the renaissance reached the streets?," 21 Dec. 2017
For 117 years, Woolworth’s five-and-dime stores were fixtures in communities, and their lunch counters and soda shops served as local gathering places.

— erin blakemore, Smithsonian, "New Nashville Restaurant Recreates Civil Rights Sit-In Site," 13 Mar. 2017
According to one detailed profile in Forbes, Green started his working life as a stock boy, then worked for a five-and-dime store before opening the first Hobby Lobby.

— sarah jones, New Republic, "We’re All Living in Hobby Lobby’s Bible Nation," 13 Oct. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'dime store.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of dime store

circa 1928

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

DIME-STORE Defined for English Language Learners

dime-store

adjective

Definition of dime-store for English Language Learners

: poor or inferior in quality

dime store

noun

Definition of dime store for English Language Learners

: a store that sells inexpensive goods

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dime-store

Definition of dime-store

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dime store

Definition of dime store

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First Known Use of dime store

DIME-STORE Defined for English Language Learners

dime-store

Definition of dime-store for English Language Learners

dime store

Definition of dime store for English Language Learners

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dime-store

Definition of dime-store

First Known Use of dime-store

dime store

Definition of dime store

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First Known Use of dime store

DIME-STORE Defined for English Language Learners

dime-store

Definition of dime-store for English Language Learners

dime store

Definition of dime store for English Language Learners

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