dollar
Pluraldollars
- 1The official currency unit of several countries, including the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, and Hong Kong, written with the symbol $.
The painting sold for nearly two million dollars at auction.
Every dollar in your pocket is backed by the issuing government.
UsageBefore another noun it stays singular: a five-dollar bill (not
incorrect: five-dollars bill).Similarbuck
Note
Economists also pin it to a year, as in 2005 dollars, so that amounts from different periods can be compared. The name goes back to the German thaler, short for Joachimsthaler, a large silver coin first struck in 1520 at Joachimsthal in Bohemia, a mining town whose name means Saint Joachim's valley.
- 2Money considered in a general sense, rather than a specific amount or particular currency.
Some politicians follow the dollar more closely than the public good.
In that town, every decision comes down to dollars.
UsageOften the plus a noun plus dollar for a share of spending: the advertising dollar, the tourist dollar.
Note
This sense treats money as a pool that people compete for or divide up, as in the advertising dollar, the tourist dollar or the consumer dollar. By one count, newspapers took 45 percent of the advertising dollar in 1935, well ahead of magazines and radio.
- 3A colloquial term for the ringgit, the unit of currency used in Malaysia.
When my uncle in Penang says the taxi cost twenty dollars, he means ringgit, not American money.
At a Kuala Lumpur stall, the uncle charged one dollar extra for an egg on my noodles.
UsageUse ringgit in formal writing or when your audience might confuse dollar with another currency.
Similarringgit
Note
Malaysian speakers often call the ringgit a dollar in everyday talk, keeping the ringgit's former official English name, which matches the official currency name used elsewhere.
Less common meanings
- 4A quarter of a pound, or one crown: historically a coin minted at about the same size and composition as a contemporary United States dollar coin, and worth slightly more.
Similarcrown
Note
British slang called the crown a dollar, likening the large silver coin to the dollar, though the crown was worth a little more. A reader who meets a wage of "two dollars" in an old British setting should understand half a pound, not American money.
- 5Imported from the United States and paid for in U.S. dollars.
For there are two luxury imports that lead all the others: dollar films and dollar tobacco.
1956, The Spectator - 6The amount of reactor reactivity needed to move from delayed criticality to prompt criticality.
Practice
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Origin
Attested since the mid-16th century, it comes from early Dutch daler or daalder, from German Taler (earlier Joachimsthaler), literally "of Joachimstal," the town where the original coins were minted: the name meaning "(Saint) Joachim's valley." It was possibly reinforced by the Dutch leeuwendaalder, also used in the American colonies.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 6 facts
- The English word is attested since the mid-16th century. en.wiktionary.org
- Dollar derives from early Dutch daler or daalder, ultimately from German Taler. en.wiktionary.org
- Taler is shortened from Joachimsthaler, referring to a coin from Joachimstal. en.wikisource.org
- The original coins were minted at Joachimstal. rijksmuseum.nl
- The town's name means Saint Joachim's valley. en.wikipedia.org
- Dutch leeuwendaalder possibly reinforced dollar and was used in the American colonies. en.wiktionary.org