twopence

or tup·pence

[ tuhp-uhns ]

noun,plural two·pence, two·pen·ces for 2-4.
  1. (used with a singular or plural verb)British. a sum of two pennies.

  2. a bronze coin of the United Kingdom equal to two pennies: issued after decimalization in 1971.

  1. a former copper coin of Great Britain, equal to two pennies, issued under George III.

  2. a former silver coin of England, equal to two pennies: issued only as maundy money after 1662.

  3. a trifle.

Origin of twopence

1
1400–50; late Middle English two pens;see two, pence

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use twopence in a sentence

  • I visited one day, in Aberdeen, a restaurant where a copious repast was being served for the modest sum of two pence a head.

    Friend Mac Donald | Max O'Rell
  • He loveth no groats, nor pence, or two-pence; Give us red royals, if ye will see his abominable presence.New Gyse.

    Shakespearean Playhouses | Joseph Quincy Adams
  • Each inch that the bed was longer than six feet and wider than four feet was to be charged for at the rate of two pence per inch.

    The Old Furniture Book | N. Hudson Moore
  • He threatened to punish any man "who gave two pence" toward the support of a Non-conformist minister.

  • I try to remember it all, but it is so hard when one doesn't really care two pence how it goes.

    Can You Forgive Her? | Anthony Trollope

British Dictionary definitions for twopence

twopence

tuppence

/ (ˈtʌpəns) /


nounBritish
  1. the sum of two pennies

  2. (used with a negative) something of little value (in the phrase not care or give twopence)

  1. a former British silver coin, now only coined as Maundy money

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012