dime

See also: díme, dîme, and Dime

English

A United States dime.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /daɪm/

• Audio (AU)

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪm

Etymology 1

From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] French dîme (“one tenth, tithe”), from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin decimus (“tenth”)

Noun

dime (plural dimes)

1. (US) A coin worth one-tenth of a U.S. dollar.
2. (Canada) A coin worth one-tenth of a Canadian dollar.
3. (Canada, US) A small amount of money

   She didn't spend a dime.

4. (US, basketball) An assist
5. (slang) A playing card with the rank of ten
6. (slang) Ten dollars
7. (slang) A thousand dollars
8. (slang) A measurement of illicit drugs (usually marijuana) sold in ten dollar bags.
9. (slang) Payment responsibility

   Are you traveling on the company's dime?

10. (US, slang) A beautiful woman (10 on a 10-point scale)
    • 2005, “Stay Fly”, in Jordan Houston, Darnell Carlton, Paul Beauregard, Premro Smith, Marlon Goodwin, David Brown, and Willie Hutchinson (lyrics), Most Known Unknown‎^[1], performed by Three 6 Mafia (featuring Young Buck, 8 Ball, and MJG), Sony BMG:

      Make a couple of nuns a couple of 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 dollars and cents currencies)
• (thousand dollars): grand

Derived terms

Terms derived from dime (noun)

• dime a dozen
• dimeback
• dime bag
• dime novel
• dime store
• dime's worth
• drop a dime
• five-and-dime
• nickel and dime
• not worth a dime
• on a dime
• on someone's dime

 

Translations

A coin worth one-tenth of a dollar

• Bulgarian: монета от 10 цента (moneta ot 10 centa)
• Finnish: 10 sentin kolikko, kymmensenttinen
• German: Zehncentstück (de) n
• Italian: decino m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Navajo: dootłʼizh
• Russian: моне́та в 10 центов f (monéta v 10 centov)
• Slovene: kovanec za deset centov m

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
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}

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

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

   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.

Synonyms

• (inform on): drop a dime on someone; See also Thesaurus:rat out

Anagrams

• Demi, Diem, demi, demi-, idem, meid

---

Italian

Noun

dime f

1. plural of dima

Anagrams

• 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?

---

Spanish

Verb

dime

1. Compound of the informal second-person singular (tú) affirmative imperative form of decir, di and the pronoun me.

   ¡Dime!

   Tell me!

See also

• dinos
• diles