dollar

n. the basic unit of money in the United States, Canada, Australia, and several other countries.

n. the official unit of currency in various countries, including the US, Canada, Australia, and Singapore, typically represented by the symbol $.

“A cup of coffee at the station costs about four dollars.”

“The exchange rate fluctuated significantly, resulting in the local currency losing value against the US dollar for three consecutive months.”

n. a general way to talk about money or wealth.

n. used metonymically to refer to money, wealth, or financial gain.

“He is only doing that job for the dollar, not because he likes it.”

“In the modern film industry, many decisions are driven by the pursuit of the almighty dollar rather than artistic merit.”

Informal

n. a technical unit used by scientists to measure reactions in nuclear power.

n. a unit of reactivity in a nuclear reactor, defined as the interval between delayed criticality and prompt criticality.

“The engineer calculated the reactivity of the core in dollars.”

“The safety protocols required the reactor to maintain a reactivity level well below one dollar to prevent a prompt critical excursion.”

Technical

n. an old British name for a coin worth five shillings.

n. a historical British colloquialism for a crown or a five-shilling coin, worth one-quarter of a pound.

“My grandfather told me that a dollar used to buy a lot of food.”

“Before decimalisation in 1971, it was common for Londoners to refer to a five-shilling piece as a dollar.”

British English · Archaic · Informal