worth a dime
1
7.0
- idiom
- Informal
:
no vale nada
- The hysterical comments that a dollar is now worth a dime, or whatever, are just empty rhetoric.
Examples
-
It looks like your daddy doesn't think you're worth a dime.
-
Our dollar isn't worth a dime, fiat money.
Blog text (19) -
If Cal didn't do that, he wouldn't be worth a dime.
Blog text (29) -
Nora, Dilg's life won't be worth a dime if I turn him back to that jury now.
-
Why doesn't somebody form some sort of union that puts stamps of approval on books that are worth a dime in order to make browsing the e-book market easier, and to open a new job market based around self-publishing?
Blog text (2) -
That old computer is worth a dime and should be recycled.
-
The proposal he submitted isn't worth a dime in this competitive market.
-
This broken watch isn't worth a dime; you might as well throw it away.
Synonyms
298
3.0
Has no value or use
30
8.2
Not important and worth very little
12
3.2
Very common and not special or valuable
5
3.6
Not worth anything or useful
2
6.8
Not useful or worth much
1
8.9
A person or thing that others see as worthless
1
6.2
Of no value or use
1
8.6
Very common and not worth much
1
9.7
Of little value and not important
1
7.2
Small and not important, usually involving little money
Not useful and having little value
Completely without value or use
Of little or no value
It has very little value
Cheap and not worth much
Cheap and not worth much
Small and of little value or importance
People treat a person or their work as not important
Very common and not worth much
Antonyms
How Valuable
113
4.2
526
2.5
- Informal
1
7.0
- Archaic
298
3.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase literally combines 'worth' (indicating value) with 'a dime' (a small, low-value coin), so a learner who knows both words can directly infer that something has very little monetary value. This compositional pattern (small coin = negligible value) is common cross-linguistically, making the expression immediately understandable to B1 learners who know the constituents.
Etymology
The phrase worth a dime comes from the idea of a small US coin: something that only costs a dime is very cheap. So, if something is not worth a dime, it means it is 'of little or no value'.