/ ˈdɒlə(r); NAmE ˈdɑːl-/ noun
1.
[ C ] ( symb $ ) the unit of money in the US, Canada, Australia and several other countries :
You will be paid in American dollars.
—compare buck
—see also top dollar
2.
[ C ] a banknote or coin worth one dollar :
Do you have a dollar?
a dollar bill
3.
the dollar [ sing. ] ( finance ) the value of the US dollar compared with the value of the money of other countries :
The dollar closed two cents down.
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IDIOMS
see bet verb , million
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WORD ORIGIN
from early Flemish or Low German daler , from German T(h)aler , short for Joachimsthaler , a coin from the silver mine of Joachimsthal (Joachim's valley), now Jáchymov in the Czech Republic. The term was later applied to a coin used in the Spanish-American colonies, which was also widely used in the British North American colonies at the time of the American War of Independence, hence adopted as the name of the US monetary unit in the late 18th cent.