dime

See also: díme, dîme, and Dime

English

A United States dime.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /daɪm/

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪm

Etymology 1

From Middle English dime, from Anglo-Norman disme (“one tenth, tithe”) (modern French dîme), from Latin decimus (“tenth”). Doublet of decime.

Noun

dime (plural dimes)

1. (US, Canada) A coin worth one-tenth of a dollar.

   Coordinate terms: quarter, nickel, penny

2. (Canada, US) A small amount of money.

   She didn't spend a dime.

3. (US, Philippines, basketball) An assist.
4. (slang) A playing card with the rank of ten.
5. (slang) Ten dollars.
6. (slang) A thousand dollars.

   Synonym: grand

   • 2007 05, Ted McClelland, Horseplayers: Life at the Track, Chicago Review Press, →ISBN:

     At one point, Rob hit a dire losing streak. In a single week, he dropped a dime—$1,000.

7. (slang) A measurement of illicit drugs (usually marijuana) sold in ten dollar bags.
8. (slang) A ten year prison sentence.
   • 2007 September 23, David Bowman, “Torchlit Crit”, in The New York Times‎^[1], →ISSN:

     These deaths got him a dime in a minimum-security prison.

9. (slang) Payment responsibility.

   Are you traveling on the company's dime?

10. (US, slang) A beautiful woman (10 on a 10-point scale).

    Synonym: dime piece

    • 2005, “Stay Fly”, in Jordan Houston, Darnell Carlton, Paul Beauregard, Premro Smith, Marlon Goodwin, David Brown, Willie Hutchinson (lyrics), Most Known Unknown‎^[2], performed by Three 6 Mafia (featuring Young Buck, 8 Ball, and MJG), Sony BMG:

      Make a couple of nuns a couple of dimes.

    • 2008, “House Music”, in Afterparty Babies, performed by Cadence Weapon:

      Wait in line for drinks, it’s another time out / Made out on the floor with a couple dimes

11. (American football) A defensive formation with six defensive backs, one of whom is a dimeback.

Synonyms

• (coin): ten cent piece (Used in other countries with dollar-and-cent currencies)

Derived terms

Terms derived from dime (noun)

• bet a dime to a dollar
• bet a dollar to a dime
• dime a dozen
• dimeback
• dime back
• dime-bag
• dime bag
• dime dropper
• dime-dropper
• dime museum
• dime novel
• dime novelist
• dime piece
• dime store
• dime's worth
• drop a dime
• five-and-dime
• five and dime
• half dime
• Mercury dime
• nickel-and-dime
• nickel and dime
• not worth a dime
• on a dime
• on someone's dime
• on someone's own dime
• Yankee dime

 

Translations

a coin worth one-tenth of a dollar

• Bulgarian: монета от 10 цента (moneta ot 10 centa)
• Chinese:

  Cantonese: 毫子 (hou⁴ zi²)

• Dutch: dubbeltje
• Finnish: 10 sentin kolikko, kymmensenttinen
• German: Zehncentstück (de) n
• Greek: δεκάρα (el) f (dekára)
• Italian: decino m
• Malay: kupang (ms) (Kedah, Kelantan, Penang)
• Navajo: dootłʼizh
• Russian: моне́та в 10 центов f (monéta v 10 centov), десятице́нтовик (ru) (desjaticéntovik)
• Slovene: kovanec za deset centov m
• Sranan Tongo: tinsensi

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Spanish: (Panama) ^{(please verify)} décimo (es) m

See also

• buck
• dollar
• mill
• nickel
• quarter

References

• Weisenberg, Michael (2000) The Official Dictionary of Poker. MGI/Mike Caro University. →ISBN

Etymology 2

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.

Verb

dime (third-person singular simple present dimes, present participle diming, simple past and past participle dimed)

1. (US, slang, with "on") To inform on, to turn in to the authorities, to rat on, especially anonymously.

   Synonyms: drop a dime on someone, dime out; see also Thesaurus:rat out

   Somebody dimed on me and I got arrested for selling marijuana.

2. (US, slang) To operate an audio amplifier (especially an electric guitar amplifier) at level "10" (typically the highest amplification level).

   I get the best-sounding sustain and smooth harmonic distortion when I run the amp dimed.

Further reading

• Jonathon Green (2024) “dime n.”, in Green’s Dictionary of Slang

Anagrams

• Demi, Diem, IMed, demi, demi-, idem, meid

Italian

Noun

dime f

1. plural of dima

Anagrams

• IDEM, idem, medi

Ladino

Verb

dime

1. imperative singular of dezir with first-person singular pronoun attached: tell me.
   • 1979, Kamelia Shahar, “La verdadera felisidad”, in Aki Yerushalayim, number 1:

     Eliau Anavi ke lo estava mirando d'enfrente se aserko de el i le disho: Dime ombre, deke estas de negra umor ?

     The prophet Elijah, who was watching him from in front, approached him and said: Tell me, man, why are you in a bad mood?

Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

Borrowed from English. Ultimately from Latin decimus (“tenth”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɑɪ̯m/

Noun

dime m (definite singular dimen, indefinite plural dimes, definite plural dimene)

1. a dime

References

• “dime” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• “dime” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).

Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

Borrowed from English. Ultimately from Latin decimus (“tenth”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /dɑɪ̯m/

Noun

dime m (definite singular dimen, indefinite plural dimes, definite plural dimane)

1. a dime

Anagrams

• deim, demi-

Spanish

Verb

dime

1. second-person singular imperative of decir combined with me

See also

• dinos
• diles