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.

6. a thaler.

7. a peso.

8. Levant dollar.

9. yuan.

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. 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

• feel like a million dollars
• look like a million dollars
• you can bet your ass (bottom dollar)

Example Sentences

Its avatar is a cartoon man standing in front of a wall of dollar bills.

From BBC

South Korean companies have promised to invest billions of dollars in key US industries in the coming years, partly as a way to avoid tariffs.

From BBC

Takahashi footed the bill to stage a cross-Pacific showdown between the two teams, hoping one day to own a Tokyo-based franchise — a cost of several hundred thousand dollars at the time, equivalent to millions today.

From Los Angeles Times

Private investors are throwing millions of dollars at the problem, and consequently, a slew of entrepreneurs and former firefighters are trying their hand at developing high-tech solutions.

From Los Angeles Times

Mark S Zuckerberg says his account has been disabled five times over the past eight years, and it has cost him thousands of dollars in lost business.

From BBC

Related Words

• currency 
• greenback