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
Though Pitt is no longer in the Big East, Miller still ranks fourth all-time in Big East history in career assists with 744 dimes.
—Sportsday Staff, Dallas Morning News, 26 Mar. 2026
Ball, who has been on a heater of late, set the tone early by showing off his full bag of tricks — shooting 3s off one foot, throwing no-look dimes and outleaping opponents for rebounds, seemingly toying with the Kings at times.
—CBS News, 25 Mar. 2026
That put a lot of pressure on the shoulders of casting director Susie Farris to find performers who could pivot on a dime and constantly embody the much narrower character demands of the Rockin’ Grandmas employees.
—Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 25 Mar. 2026
The junior Cyclone can drop post dimes against double coverage, too.
—Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 21 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for dime
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Sportsday Staff, Dallas Morning News, 26 Mar. 2026
Ball, who has been on a heater of late, set the tone early by showing off his full bag of tricks — shooting 3s off one foot, throwing no-look dimes and outleaping opponents for rebounds, seemingly toying with the Kings at times.
—CBS News, 25 Mar. 2026
That put a lot of pressure on the shoulders of casting director Susie Farris to find performers who could pivot on a dime and constantly embody the much narrower character demands of the Rockin’ Grandmas employees.
—Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 25 Mar. 2026
The junior Cyclone can drop post dimes against double coverage, too.
—Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 21 Mar. 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 27 Mar. 2026.
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