a coin of the US and Canada worth ten cents see also five-and-dime, nickel-and-dimeTopics Moneyc1(美国、加拿大的)十分硬币,十分钱 Word Originlate Middle English: from Old French disme, from Latin decima pars ‘tenth part’. The word originally denoted a tithe or tenth part; the modern sense ‘ten cent coin’ dates from the late 18th cent.
Idioms
a dime a dozen (North American English)
(British English two/ten a penny)
very common and therefore not valuable 普通得不值钱;(因常见而)价值低
drop a/the dime on somebody
- (North American English, informal)
to tell the police or people in authority that somebody has done something wrong 一角钱:告诉警察或权威人士有人做错了事 If he finds out who dropped the dime on him, they're in trouble. 如果他发现是谁给了他一分钱,他们就有麻烦了。 I'm worried if I drop a dime on this guy, he'll get fired, which I don't think he really deserves. 我担心如果我在这个家伙身上花一毛钱,他会被解雇,我认为他真的不值得。