Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A coin of the United States or Canada worth ten cents.
- n. Slang A dime bag.
- idiom. a dime a dozen Overly abundant; commonplace.
- idiom. on a dime At a precise point; within a narrowly defined area: a sports car that stops on a dime.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. A tithe.
- n. The number ten.
- n. A silver coin of the United States, of the value of 10 cents, being the tenth part of a dollar, worth about pence English.
- Sold for a dime.
Wiktionary
- n. US A coin worth one-tenth of a dollar. The physical coin is smaller than a penny.
- n. Canada A coin worth one-tenth of a Canadian dollar.
- n. US, basketball An assist
- n. slang A playing card with the rank of ten
- n. slang Ten dollars
- n. slang A thousand dollars
- n. slang A measurement of illicit drugs (usually marijuana) sold in ten dollar bags.
- n. slang A very small area
- n. slang Payment responsibility
- n. slang A beautiful woman (10 from the 10-point scale)
- v. US, slang, with "on" To inform on, to turn in to the authorities, to rat on, especially anonymously.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. A silver coin of the United States, of the value of ten cents; the tenth of a dollar.
WordNet 3.0
- n. a United States coin worth one tenth of a dollar
- n. street name for a packet of illegal drugs that is sold for ten dollars
Etymologies
- From the use of the coin in a payphone to report a crime to the police. US payphones charged 10¢ in almost all jurisdictions until the late 1970s. (Wiktionary)
- Middle English, tenth part, from Old French disme, from Latin decima (pars), tenth (part), from decem, ten; see dekm̥ in Indo-European roots. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“However, the fact that this dime is almost universally known as the Mercury dime is an indication of the potential pitfalls of too clever symbolism.”
“The only 2 firearms they (Rem) now makes that look worth a dime is the BDL and CDL, plus the price is near$8 - 900.00.”
“We do not say a dime is a deca-cent, and we do not say that a cent is a deci-dollar, so that when he tells you that our money system is metric he is misleading you.”
“There are craft vendors, musical performances, and local food vendors (including what I refer to as the dime bag - a $2 bag of freshly cooked mini doughnuts that you can top with powdered sugar and cinnamon).”
““No one has offered my in-laws one thin dime, and unlike the average Palestinian in 1948, they had valuable property.””
“No one has offered my in-laws one thin dime, and unlike the average Palestinian in 1948, they had valuable property.”
“There is not one thin dime's worth of difference between Republicrats. rethugliKKKLAN”
“The Queller 1794 half dime is NGC graded AU-55 and it brought $86,250.”
Queller Collection of Coin Patterns Sells for $8.36 Million (Part 3 of 3) : Coin Collecting News
“The 1802 half dime is very expensive to extremely expensive in all grades, and is unknown as Mint State in census/population reports.”
Draped Bust Half Dime, Heraldic Eagle, 1800-1805 : Coin Guide
“Someone who states "not one thin dime from Science" and is telling the truth not hiding in a closed session at the NASA budget hearing so no one will hear the lies. anyone will do, that the President chooses”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘dime’.
-
Americanism
American words
finest, fast food, acclimate, aluminum, alphabetize, airplane, affirmative action, arugula, backhoe, bangs, base board, bayou and 162 more...
-
Money
This started out as a Scrabble list, so I'm personally limiting myself to listing words which are acceptable in the Official Scrabble Players Dictionary, but go ahead and list whatever you can find...
lek, shekel, sheqalim, qindar, qindars, qindarka, qintar, qintars, dollar, dollars, penny, pennies and 143 more...
-
mager's Words
enigmatic, pragmatic, pulchritudinous, nincompoop, annihilation, sociality, entailment, acrosome, egalitarian, culture, technocracy, shenanigan and 541 more...
-
nighthawks at the diner
being words from Tom Waits songs.
vinyl, cigarette, rhinestone, naugahyde, margarine, vermouth, gin, platinum, wurlitzer, menthol, oldsmobile, asphalt and 90 more...
-
Some Words I Love to Use
arcology, strumpet, crux, confected, pedant, bluestocking, cogitation, incensed, lovecraftian, cygnet, dactyl, adytum and 539 more...
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Coined
cent, penny, nickel, dime, quarter, farthing, shilling, halfpenny, twopence, threepence, sixpence, groat and 91 more...
-
Only on Wordie/Wordnik
Okay, mostly on Wordie. But it's more fun here anyway.
brannock device, polari, stupidhead, in toto, nounal, flustrated, stuffocate, firkin, full-assed, placeholder name, pro-text, cheesequake and 408 more...
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Loxodont's list
circumambulate, atelectasis, paramount, therefore, apotropaic, facture, identity, dome, lecture, cannibal, catatonia, rite and 119 more...
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Filthy Stinking Rich
Monetary units and other words that mean money. Other financial words are allowed too, as long as they're principally about money. Get it, principally? I kill me.
money, cash, dough, loot, wad, stack, booty, capital, nest egg, treasure, banknote, net and 168 more...
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TN9 Lesson 107
loudspeaker, gentleman, hand luggage, overhead compartment, Los Angeles, approximately, securely, upright position, suit yourself, flight attendant, straighten, hand baggage and 25 more...
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Image
bur, birdsong, wing, arm, crane, shade, hue, dye, pont, ferry, triangle, ridge and 41 more...
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paying your way
coins, paper, cards and more
penny, dime, quarter, half dollar, dollar, silver dollar, nickel, coin, shekel, wampum, simolian, fen and 32 more...
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Stuffie: Butterfingers!
Stuffie #2. Stuff you drop.
anchor, charges, ball, name, hint, bomb, it, rhyme, ceiling, icon, class, stitch and 29 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for dime.
ruzuzu The American
Heritage Dictionary's
etymology:
"Middle English, tenth
part, from Old French disme, from
Latin decima...." Jun 28, 2010
bilby My what talent's here!
A boar's rush of poetry
Even dontcraiku. Mar 7, 2009
dontcry just discovered page
loving haiku posted here
cinquain's still my fave Mar 7, 2009
lea One thousand is called a "dime". It is a term that gamblers have been using forever.
- A comment in Language Hat's blog. John linked there earlier @ sawbuck. Mar 7, 2009
gangerh ps
'twasn't deliberate I feel Jan 25, 2008
gangerh uselessness
your comment prompts my memory
'twas said I know not when but by a footballer when asked about an upcoming game, I think
"I never predict the future, AND I NEVER WILL".
love your name btw. Jan 25, 2008
uselessness 'Twas deliberate.
I've never made a mistake
(And I never will). Jan 25, 2008
sionnach "I've always said reesetee"
But I steer clear of haiku
though I can count to six. Jan 25, 2008
reesetee My apologies.
Uselessness was always right.
Brilliant guy, he is. Jan 25, 2008
uselessness Hold on there, reesetee.
I sure didn't get it wrong.
I've always said "reesetee." Jan 25, 2008
reesetee No worries, my friend.
Everyone gets it wrong once.
Someday, better nick. Jan 25, 2008
asativum Oops. My bad, reesetee.
I'll just stick to News Haikus.
Plus, I'm out of dimes.
Jan 25, 2008
reesetee I hate to tell you
"ReeseTee" has two syllables.
So much for haiku. Jan 25, 2008
asativum Well said, reesetee,
And you as well, uselessness.
S: please pass the bag. Jan 25, 2008
reesetee Or sometimes it's like
Hippopotamus stomach
And pickled pig lips. Jan 24, 2008
uselessness It's drugs and Wordie;
They go together like, um...
Like desktops and mud? Jan 24, 2008
seanahan This has gotten weird.
Someone is smoking something.
Perhaps a dime bag. Jan 24, 2008
asativum Nice of them to make
Their name five syllables, no?
(And thanks, uselessness.)
Jan 24, 2008
uselessness Say, Asativum,
That Wikipedia link
Made a great haiku. Jan 24, 2008
asativum Once cheap, copper soared,
Til a cent cost more to make.
Now it's just habit.
Jan 24, 2008
reesetee I should explain, then.
I meant the color copper.
Weird little brown coin. Jan 23, 2008
asativum Just a copper shell;
Most of it seems to be zinc.
--Wikipedia Jan 23, 2008
reesetee And what about the
Penny? Why is it copper?
I just don't get it. Jan 23, 2008
uselessness A dime is so small
A nickel is much bigger
Money is a joke Jan 23, 2008
yarb When I was at school
"dime bar" was playground slang for
a doltish person. Jan 23, 2008
reesetee Make that six haikus
This is Wordie, after all:
We can't help ourselves. Jan 23, 2008
asativum Five haikus on change,
Didn't even cost a dime.
Ha! How cool is that?
Jan 23, 2008
seanahan I stole some ice cream
Then uselessness dropped the dime
Now I am in jail Jan 23, 2008
uselessness What a special coin.
I can see why it was dear.
I wish mine did drugs. Jan 22, 2008
oroboros Yes, you may wonder,
But the dime was on steroids.
Big controversy! Jan 22, 2008
uselessness Ice cream for ten cents?
In 2008, you say?
Just where do you live? Jan 21, 2008
oroboros Hello shiny friend,
I will never let you go.
Oops! An ice cream truck.
--heard on NPR (and slightly modified) Jan 19, 2008