dollar

dollar — noun

1. the main unit of money that people use in countries such as the United States, C

1.nounA1
Definition

the main unit of money that people use in countries such as the United States, Canada, and Australia, with one dollar equal to one hundred cents

Example

Saira paid forty dollars for her train ticket to Toronto.

number + dollars — price pattern

Liam saved nearly two hundred dollars by buying his laptop during a sale.

Common collocations
  • US dollar
  • Canadian dollar
  • Australian dollar
  • dollar sign
  • dollar bill
  • dollar amount
Synonyms
  • buck

    informal; used mainly in speech for US, Canadian, or Australian dollars

  • currency

    much broader term covering any country's money

Grammar Patterns

number + dollar(s)

Usage Note

Always specify which country's dollar you mean (e.g. US dollars, Canadian dollars, Australian dollars) when the context does not make it obvious.

Common Mistakes

Dollar is the money of America.
The dollar is the currency used in the United States, Canada, Australia, and several other countries.
Many nations use a dollar as their currency, so name the country when needed.
I need to buy some dollars before my trip to Tokyo.
I need to buy some US dollars before my trip to Tokyo.
Japan uses the yen, not dollars; specify which foreign currency you mean.

2. the value that the US dollar has when compared with foreign currencies, especial

2.nounB1
Definition

the value that the US dollar has when compared with foreign currencies, especially in discussions about exchange rates, trade, and international markets

Example

The dollar has grown stronger against the Japanese yen this year.

the dollar + verb + against + [currency] — exchange-rate pattern

Travelers watch the dollar rate closely before exchanging their money abroad.

Common collocations
  • strong dollar
  • weak dollar
  • dollar rises/falls
  • dollar exchange rate
  • against the dollar
Synonyms
  • greenback

    informal term for the US dollar, originating from the green colour of American paper money

  • US currency

    more formal and broader; includes coins as well as the exchange value

Grammar Patterns

the dollar + verb + against + currency

the dollar + comparative adjective

Usage Note

Frequently modified by adjectives describing strength or direction: a strong/weak dollar, a falling/rising dollar. The subject of the sentence is almost always the dollar, treated as a singular economic force.

Common Mistakes

The Canadian dollar fell against the euro, so my trip to Paris became more expensive.' (if you mean the US dollar)
The US dollar fell against the euro, so my trip to Paris became more expensive.
Sense 2 refers specifically to the US dollar's exchange value; name the currency clearly.

3. a single paper bill or a metal coin that has a value of one dollar, including la

3.nounA2
Definition

a single paper bill or a metal coin that has a value of one dollar, including larger collectible coins such as the silver dollar

Example

Tendai found an old silver dollar inside his grandfather's desk drawer.

The ticket machine only accepts dollar bills and does not take any coins.

a dollar bill — the paper form of one dollar

Common collocations
  • silver dollar
  • dollar bill
  • dollar coin
  • dollar note
Synonyms
  • bill

    specifically a piece of paper money, not a coin; common in American English

  • note

    British English term for paper money

  • coin

    a metal piece worth one dollar, less common than the paper bill in daily US use

Grammar Patterns

a + dollar + coin/note/bill

Usage Note

In the United States, the one-dollar bill is far more common than the one-dollar coin. A silver dollar refers to a specific type of large coin that may be collectible.

Idioms

look/feel like a million dollars/bucks

idiom

To appear or feel very attractive, healthy, or happy.

Maya looked like a million dollars in her new dress.

After a good night's sleep, I feel like a million bucks.

Word family

  • half-dollar
    nounB1
  • dollarize
    verbC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Dollar, currency, buck, and greenback all relate to money, but they differ in scope and register. Dollar names a specific monetary unit used by several countries, while currency is a broader term that covers any system of money in use (e.g. "The yen is Japan's currency"). Buck is an informal, everyday word for a dollar in spoken American, Canadian, and Australian English ("That burger cost me ten bucks"). Greenback is a historical nickname for the US dollar, originating from the green ink on American banknotes during the Civil War; it is less common today but still appears in financial journalism and historical texts. If you are talking casually about paying for lunch, use buck. In a formal economics essay, prefer dollar or US dollar. For any country's system of money more generally, use currency.

currency ↗buck ↗greenback

Common collocations

Nouns

  • dollar sign
  • dollar amount
  • dollar value

Phrases

  • millions of dollars
  • billions of dollars
  • dollars and cents

Prepositions

  • in dollars
  • against the dollar

Etymology

GermanDutchEnglish

The word dollar traces back to the German Thaler, a large silver coin first minted in the 16th century in Joachimsthal (now Jáchymov in the Czech Republic). People called the coin a Joachimsthaler, which was shortened to Thaler. The term passed into Dutch as daalder and then into English as dollar. English speakers used dollar to refer to the Spanish peso, a silver coin widely circulated in the American colonies. When the United States created its own money system in 1785, it chose dollar as the name for the basic unit.