penalty

American  

[pen-l-tee] / ˈpɛn l ti /

noun

• penalties
  plural

1. a punishment imposed or incurred for a violation of law or rule.

2. a loss, forfeiture, suffering, or the like, to which one subjects oneself by nonfulfillment of some obligation.

3. something that is forfeited, as a sum of money.

4. a disadvantage imposed upon one of the competitors or upon one side for infraction of the rules of a game, sport, etc.

5. consequence or disadvantage attached to any action, condition, etc.

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penalty British  

/ ˈpɛnəltɪ /

noun

1. a legal or official punishment, such as a term of imprisonment

2. some other form of punishment, such as a fine or forfeit for not fulfilling a contract

3. loss, suffering, or other unfortunate result of one's own action, error, etc

4. sport games a handicap awarded against a player or team for illegal play, such as a free shot at goal by the opposing team, loss of points, etc

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• penalties
  plural

Etymology

Origin of penalty

1505–15; ≪ Medieval Latin poenālitās. See penal, -ty ²

Explanation

A penalty is a punishment or consequence for doing something wrong, such as having to pay a fee for not bringing your library book back when it was due. In hockey, players who break the rules have to sit in "the penalty box." Just like the penalty box punishes hockey players, all penalties are punishments for doing something wrong. Going to prison is the penalty for serious crimes. Detention is the penalty for misbehaving in school. Often, penalty applies to payments people have to make for breaking a financial contract of some kind.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

penalty penalties

Message to Italy: We don’t seek the death penalty for Lee Gilley.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

Drivers in Montana, for example, can face a civil penalty of up to $1,000 on first offense.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026

So we decided to break our silence to say publicly that we don’t want the death penalty imposed in the case involving our daughter.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

Climbed from 15th on the grid to finish just outside the points and comfortably ahead of Audi team-mate Bortoleto after the Brazilian's penalty.

From BBC ● Oct. 4, 2026

“The other team’s penalty gives you a wrinkle in time.”

From "Escape from Mr. Lemoncello's Library" by Chris Grabenstein

In practice, the order will defer payment of the Federal excise tax imposed on the fuel for the rest for the year, without penalties or interest.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026

His dyed fuel is sometimes stolen, despite previous penalties for on-road use.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026

Incomplete tax verification could result in reporting errors or penalties from the Internal Revenue Service.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026

In the first half, we gave away penalties at set-piece and let them into our 22.

From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026

Actually, you can win only by taking cards from the blue decks, which offer a nice steady diet of $50 payouts and modest penalties.

From "Blink" by Malcolm Gladwell

Related Words

• cost
• discipline
• fine
• forfeiture
• punishment