dollar

[ dol-er ]

noun

1. a paper money, silver or cupronickel coin, and monetary unit of the United States, equal to 100 cents. : $
2. a silver or nickel coin and monetary unit of Canada, equal to 100 cents. : $
3. any of the monetary units of various other nations, as Australia, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, East Timor, Fiji, Guyana, Hong Kong, Jamaica, Liberia, New Zealand, Singapore, the Solomon Islands, Trinidad and Tobago, and Zimbabwe, equal to 100 cents.
4. Also called ringgit. a cupronickel coin and monetary unit of Brunei, equal to 100 sen.
5. ringgit ( def ).
6. a thaler.
7. a peso.
8. Levant dollar.
9. yuan ( def 1 ).
10. British Slang. (formerly)
    1. five-shilling piece; crown.
    2. the sum of five shillings.

dollar

/ ˈdɒlə /

noun

1. the standard monetary unit of the US and its dependencies, divided into 100 cents
2. the standard monetary unit, comprising 100 cents, of the following countries or territories: Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, Brunei, Canada, the Cayman Islands, Dominica, East Timor, Ecuador, El Salvador, Fiji, Grenada, Guatemala, Guyana, Hong Kong, Jamaica, Kiribati, Liberia, Malaysia, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Namibia, Nauru, New Zealand, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Taiwan, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, and Zimbabwe
3. informal.
   (formerly) five shillings or a coin of this value
4. look or feel (like) a million dollars informal.
   to look or feel extremely well

Word History and Origins

Origin of dollar¹

First recorded in 1545–55; earlier daler, from Low German, Dutch daler; cognate with German Taler, short for Joachimsthaler, a silver coin minted in Joachimsthal ( Czech Jáchymov ) in Bohemia

Word History and Origins

Origin of dollar¹

C16: from Low German daler, from German Taler, Thaler, short for Joachimsthaler coin made from metal mined in Joachimsthal Jachymov, town now in the Czech Republic

Idioms and Phrases

In addition to the idiom beginning with dollars , also see feel like a million dollars ; look like a million dollars ; you can bet your ass (bottom dollar) .

Example Sentences

Donors responding to a slew of political text messages from both Republicans and Democrats have given tens of thousands of dollars in small donations.

From Los Angeles Times

Yoo, an estate planning attorney and longtime City Hall critic, raised nearly half a million dollars in the primary and general elections — slightly more than Hutt.

From Los Angeles Times

The dollar index is hovering at its highest level since April, rising more than 2% in the last week.

From BBC

In San Francisco, tech executives contributed millions of dollars to campaigns in an array of local races, systematically working to elect moderate candidates competing against progressive incumbents.

From Los Angeles Times

At a time when an apartment in Seoul would sell for just a few thousand dollars, Im was making nearly $100,000 a month.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• currency
• greenback