a dime a dozen

adjective

So common as to be practically or almost worthless.

“People with your skills are a dime a dozen these days.”

Similar
ten a pennyaveragebasicbog-standardcommoncommon as bumscommon as dirtcommon as muck
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Meanings

adjective
  1. AustraliaUSidiomaticSo common as to be practically or almost worthless.

    People with your skills are a dime a dozen these days.

    1 more example

    Near-synonyms: not worth a dime; see also Thesaurus:worthless

    Synonyms: ten a penny, average, basic, bog-standard, common, common as bums, common as dirt, common as muck

  2. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see a, dime, a, dozen: sold at twelve (12) units per dime (10¢).

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveSo common as to be practically or almost worthless.

Similar
ten a pennyaveragebasicbog-standardcommoncommon as bumscommon as dirtcommon as muckcommon as pig tracksdime a dozeneverydayfrequentgeneralhabitualnonrarepar for the coursepedestrianplainquotidianregular
Also see
ten a pennytuppenny-ha'pennytwo a penny

Origin

With literal origins; now usually in the figuratively extended sense.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Dutch dertien in een dozijn
  • dertien in een dozijnso common as to be practically worthless
Finnish (mahtua) kolmetoista tusinaan
  • (mahtua) kolmetoista tusinaanso common as to be practically worthless
French à la pelle
  • à la pelleso common as to be practically worthless
German wie Sand am Meer, haufenweise
  • wie Sand am Meerso common as to be practically worthless
  • haufenweiseso common as to be practically worthless
  • nachgeschmissenso common as to be practically worthless
  • nachgeworfenso common as to be practically worthless
  • hinterhergeworfenso common as to be practically worthless
  • en masseso common as to be practically worthless
  • zuhaufso common as to be practically worthless
  • mehr als genugso common as to be practically worthless
  • massenhaftso common as to be practically worthless
Hindi कौड़ियों के भाव, मिट्टी के मोल
  • कौड़ियों के भाव (kauṛiyõ ke bhāv)so common as to be practically worthless
  • मिट्टी के मोल (miṭṭī ke mol)so common as to be practically worthless
Italian a iosa, a dozzine
  • a iosaso common as to be practically worthless
  • a dozzineso common as to be practically worthless
Russian как соба́к нере́занных, двена́дцать на дю́жину
  • как соба́к нере́занных (kak sobák nerézannyx)so common as to be practically worthless
  • двена́дцать на дю́жину (dvenádcatʹ na djúžinu)so common as to be practically worthless
Spanish adocenado
  • adocenadoso common as to be practically worthless
Swedish tretton på dussinet
  • tretton på dussinetso common as to be practically worthless
Thai มากจนเป็นของธรรมดา
  • มากจนเป็นของธรรมดาso common as to be practically worthless
Cite this entry
APA

a dime a dozen. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/a%20dime%20a%20dozen

MLA

“a dime a dozen.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/a%20dime%20a%20dozen. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “a dime a dozen,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/a%20dime%20a%20dozen.

Source: a dime a dozen on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.