nickel-and-dime

[ nik-uhl-uhn-dahym ]

adjective

1. of little or no importance; trivial; petty:

   a nickel-and-dime business that soon folded.

verb (used with object)

nickelanddimed or nickeledanddimednickelanddiming or nickelinganddiming

1. to expose to financial hardship or bankruptcy by the accumulation of small expenses, bills, etc.:

   We're being nickel-and-dimed to death by these small weekly expenses.

2. to hinder, annoy, or harass with trivialities or nonessentials:

   to be nickeled-and-dimed by petty criticisms.

Word History and Origins

Origin of nickel-and-dime¹

First recorded in 1965–70

Example Sentences

Many teams are trying to slow down Kansas City’s offense by playing zone defenses, but the tradeoff is watching Travis Kelce nickel-and-dime his way down the field.

From Washington Times

After years of allegedly running other nickel-and-dime scams, Santos appears to have concluded, for good reason, that the GOP donation pool is composed of easily shaken down marks.

From Salon

“This is meant to nickel-and-dime, audit and harass America’s small businesses and families, who they know cannot afford the legal fees to fight this army,” Malliotakis said.

From Seattle Times

Maybe they result in some nickel-and-dime gains for businesses from people who throw in the towel and pay whatever’s being demanded.

From Los Angeles Times

Since deregulation in the 1980s, the entire banking industry has grown more reliant on reaching into people’s pockets with nickel-and-dime fees, as opposed to its traditional focus on loan interest.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• frivolous
• lesser
• minor
• narrow-minded