on a dime

Meaning

on a dime

(US) Within a very short distance; with agile precision in a very small space and suddenly
This boat can turn on a dime.
This car has excellent brakes that will stop it on a dime.

Source: en.wiktionary.org

Synonyms

spontaneously on a sixpence

Antonyms

next eventually sometime successively cautiously consecutively
Show all antonyms

Examples

So many I considered, closest to me, turned on a dime and sold me out dutifully, although that knife was chipping away at me, they turned their eyes away and went home to sleep. Mariah Carey

There were many times my pants were so thin I could sit on a dime and tell if it was heads or tails. Jonathan Swift

Life turns on a dime. Sometimes towards us, but more often it spins away, flirting and flashing as it goes: so long, honey, it was good while it lasted, wasn't it? Stephen King

Life turns on a dime. Stephen King

Because hate's just the flip side of love. Like heads and tails on a dime. If you don't know what it feels like to love someone, how would you know what hate is? One can't exist without the other. Jodi Picoult

What's so touching is the way we fight the war right until the moment our business is taken care of and then we turn on a dime and we immediately start taking care of people. It's like a shock and aw shucks campaign. Dennis Miller

Words in the phrase

on a dime

Close letter words and terms

on a different level on a different note on a different planet on a downer on a final note on a first-name basis