dime

/daɪm/

//daɪm// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"dime" is a 4-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“dime” has 5 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #11,873. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#11,873
frequency rank, English
3,470
“D” headwords
5
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - A coin worth one-tenth of a dollar, that is, ten cents.

Corpus desk

Index EN-dime · dime · English

dime · rank #11,873 · 5 variants · 20 confusables

  • FREQ-MID #11,873
  • LEN-MID 4 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-HIGH 20 pairs
  • VAR-MID 5 variants
  • BOOK-MID 3,470
  • PHOTO-FINISH digits

Nearest frequency peer: digits (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “dime”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “dime” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

dime vs DM
0% similar
dime vs due
50% similar
dime vs dip
50% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for dime
PropertyValue
Headworddime
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/daɪm/
Letters4
Frequency rank#11,873
Misspellings tracked5
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “dime” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right).dimelands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Same rarity band neighbours include “digits” (#11,872), “dire” (#11,874), “disagreement” (#11,875). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 5 spelling variants around dime (IPA /daɪm/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #11,873 among 3,470 “D” headwords. Wiktionary lists 12 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 5 likely wrong-spelling variants for dime, with forms such as "ddime", "diem", and "dimme". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "DM", "due", "dip", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English dime, from Anglo-Norman disme (“one tenth, tithe”) (modern French dîme), from Medieval Latin decima, from Latin decima (pars) (“tenth (part)”). Doublet of decim, decima, and decime. The correct English form is dime, spelled D-I-M-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    A coin worth one-tenth of a dollar, that is, ten cents.
  2. 2
    A small amount of money.
  3. 3
    An assist.
  4. 4
    A playing card with the rank of ten.
  5. 5
    Ten dollars.
  6. 6
    A thousand dollars.
  7. 7
    A measure of illicit drugs (usually marijuana) sold in ten-dollar bags.
  8. 8
    A ten-year prison sentence.
  9. 9
    Payment responsibility.
  10. 10
    A beautiful woman (10 on a 10-point scale).
  11. 11
    A defensive formation with six defensive backs, one of whom is a dimeback.
  12. 12
    A particularly long or precise throw that ends with a catch.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how dime appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. The San Francisco mint made about 2.5 million of these dimes, but fewer than 10 are still known to exist, according to Heritage. That’s because a financial crisis in 1893 killed demand for new coinage, and almost all the dimes were melted down.
  2. She didn't spend a dime.

Etymology

From Middle English dime, from Anglo-Norman disme (“one tenth, tithe”) (modern French dîme), from Medieval Latin decima, from Latin decima (pars) (“tenth (part)”). Doublet of decim, decima, and decime.

Synonyms

ten-cent piece

This word in other languages

Zehncentstück(Deutsch)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • ddime
  • diem
  • dimme
  • dmie
  • idme

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of dime - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

ddime1diem2dimme1dmie2idme2
Edit distance from "dime"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "dime"?
"dime" is spelled D-I-M-E. The IPA pronunciation is /daɪm/.
What does "dime" mean?
As a noun, "dime" means: A coin worth one-tenth of a dollar, that is, ten cents.
What words are commonly confused with "dime"?
"dime" is commonly confused with "DM", "due", "dip". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "dime"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "dime" is /daɪm/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "dime"?
From Middle English dime, from Anglo-Norman disme (“one tenth, tithe”) (modern French dîme), from Medieval Latin decima, from Latin decima (pars) (“tenth (part)”). Doublet of decim, decima, and decime. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "dime", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 4 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

dire#11,874hare#11,895chew#11,850bulb#11,846

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (5 here; floor ≥5).

laps5 variantsmute5 variantsrouge5 variantsripe5 variants

What to do next

You've looked up "dime". Here's where to go from here.

  • "dime" maps to 20 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "DM". View pair
  • 5 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #11,873 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "D" letter cohort. D–Z browse
  • PlainSpell rotates a curated Word of the Day from the English corpus, a passive way to discover vocabulary. Word of the Day

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list