dollarBrE /ˈdɒlə(r)/ NAmE /ˈdɑːl-/► SEE ALL(you can) bet your bottom dollar/your life (on sth/that…)the sixty-four thousand dollar questionpay, earn, charge, etc. top dollar●(you can) bet your bottom ˈdollar/your ˈlife (on sth/that…) (informal) (you can) be certain of sth（可以）肯定，打包票；毫无疑问◆You can bet your bottom dollar that he’ll forget our anniversary.可以打包票，他会把我们的纪念日忘掉。●the sixty-four thousand dollar ˈquestion ( the million dollar ˈquestion) a very important question which is difficult or impossible to answer难以（或不可能）回答的重要问题；重量级难题◆The sixty-four thousand dollar question for modern astronomy is ‘Is there life elsewhere in the universe?’当代天文学中一个重大难题是“宇宙中的其他地方有生命存在吗？”ORIGINThis phrase originated in the 1940s as ‘the sixty-four dollar question’. It came from a popular US radio quiz programme at the time on which the top prize was $64.这个短语源于 20 世纪 40 年代美国一档颇受欢迎的广播问答节目“ 64 美元奖金的问题”，该节目的头等奖是 64 美元。●pay, earn, charge, etc. top ˈdollarpay, earn, charge, etc. a lot of money付高价；挣大钱；花大价钱◆If you want the best, you have to pay top dollar.想要最好的就得付大价钱。◆We can help you get top dollar when you sell your house.你卖房子的时候我们可以帮你卖个好价钱。