English Explanatory Dictionary

nickel and dime

English dictionary entry

Meanings

adj
  1. Small time; operating on a small scale; involving small amounts of money; petty or cheap.
verb
  1. To charge, or be charged, several unexpected small amounts of money, often in the form of fees, taxes, or related expenses to a venture, which when taken as a whole add up to a significant unexpected cost.
  2. To wear down in small increments; to quibble or obsess endlessly with (someone) over trifles.
noun
  1. Fifteen years.
noun
  1. A retail store selling inexpensive items, especially (originally, formerly) one in which all items had a price near a nickel (US five cents) or a dime (US ten cents).

Pronunciation

/ˌnɪkəl ən ˈdaɪm/ en-us-nickel and dime.ogg en-au-nickel and dime.ogg

Word forms

nickel and dime nickel and dimes nickels and dimes nickel and diming nickeling and diming nickelling and diming nickel and dimed nickeled and dimed nickelled and dimed

Etymology

From the names of two US coins of small value.

Synonyms

two-bit ten-cent five and ten five-and-dime five and dime dollar store

Related words

fleece
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