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

Perhaps Young’s best one, a full-speed lefty dime to Johnson seconds after a Heat make on Saturday, was lost to history, as the camera operator didn’t recover until Johnson was laying the ball in. —John Hollinger, The Athletic, 1 Jan. 2025

Washington suited up for just 20 minutes, scoring seven points while shooting 2-of-5 from the floor (2-of-4 from deep), grabbing three rebounds, and dishing out a pair of dimes (against three turnovers). —David Faris, Newsweek, 28 Dec. 2024

The lone Patriots highlight of the game came when Maye got the Chargers to jump offside, then with pressure in his face, threw a 36-yard dime to wide receiver Demario Douglas for a touchdown. —Ryan Canfield, Fox News, 28 Dec. 2024

The most valuable dime is worth more than $1 million The crown jewel of all dimes is the 1894-S Barber Dime. —Miguel Legoas, The Arizona Republic, 12 Dec. 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

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