dime

noun \ˈdīm\

: a U.S. or Canadian coin that is worth 10 cents

Full Definition of DIME

a : a coin of the United States worth ¹⁄₁₀ dollar

b : a petty sum of money

: a Canadian 10-cent piece

slang : a packet containing 10 dollars worth of an illicit drug (as marijuana) —called also dime bag

— a dime a dozen

: so plentiful or commonplace as to be of little esteem or slight value

— on a dime

: in a very small area <these cars can turn on a dime>

: instantly

See dime defined for English-language learners

See dime defined for kids

Origin of DIME

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

Related to DIME

Synonyms: chicken feed [slang], chump change, mite, hay, peanuts, pin money, pittance, shoestring, song, two cents

Antonyms: big buck(s), boodle, bundle, fortune, king's ransom, megabuck(s), mint, wad

Rhymes with DIME

chime, climb, clime, crime, cyme, disme, grime, lime, mime, prime, rhyme, rime, slime, stime, thyme, time

A DIME A DOZEN Defined for Kids

dime

noun \ˈdīm\

Definition of DIME for Kids

: a United States coin worth ten cents

Word History of DIME

In earlier English, our name for a coin worth a tenth of a dollar meant simply “a tenth part” of something. This word was borrowed from medieval French dime or disme, with the same meaning. Dime, in turn, descends from Latin decima, a form of decimus, meaning “tenth.”