penalty
Americannoun
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a punishment imposed or incurred for a violation of law or rule.
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a loss, forfeiture, suffering, or the like, to which one subjects oneself by nonfulfillment of some obligation.
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something that is forfeited, as a sum of money.
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a disadvantage imposed upon one of the competitors or upon one side for infraction of the rules of a game, sport, etc.
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consequence or disadvantage attached to any action, condition, etc.
noun
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a legal or official punishment, such as a term of imprisonment
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some other form of punishment, such as a fine or forfeit for not fulfilling a contract
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loss, suffering, or other unfortunate result of one's own action, error, etc
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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
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of penalty
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.
Vocabulary lists containing penalty
Unit 1: Telling Details
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A Soccer and a Football Special
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Stamp Act (1765)
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Congress should revise the Anti-Terrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act and clarify the compassionate release statute.
From Slate • May 29, 2026
Appeared in the January 23, 2026, print edition as 'How the PGA Tour Won Back a LIV Star With a Hefty Penalty'.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 22, 2026
He was a board member of Death Penalty Watch, an organization whose goal is to abolish the punishment.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 28, 2025
As the Death Penalty Information Center notes, “at least 41 parents and caregivers across 21 states and the military have been exonerated since 1992 after being wrongfully convicted based on the ‘Shaken Baby’ hypothesis.”
From Salon • Jun. 29, 2025
The Death Penalty Information Center reported that Walter was the fiftieth person to be exonerated in the modern era.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
