pence

American  

[pens] / pɛns /

noun

British.

1. a plural of penny; used in referring to a sum of money rather than to the coins themselves (often used in combination).

   sixpence; The fare was 15 pence.

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pence British  

/ pɛns /

noun

1. a plural of penny

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Usage

Since the decimalization of British currency and the introduction of the abbreviation p, as in 10p, 85p, etc, the abbreviation has tended to replace pence in speech, as in 4p ˌfɔːˈpiː , 12p ˌtwɛlvˈpiː , etc

Other Word Forms

• penceless adjective

Etymology

Origin of pence

1275–1325; Middle English pens, pans

Example Sentences

The shares were sold at 273 pence a share, which is a 9% discount to Thursday’s closing price of 300 pence a share.

From The Wall Street Journal

The announcement came alongside its half-year results for the six months ended Jan. 31, where Smiths Group said it would increase its dividend by 5.4% to 15 pence a share.

From The Wall Street Journal

A therm of gas delivered to the UK was assumed to cost 74 pence.

From BBC

The board declared a dividend of 150 pence a share for 2025, up from 130 pence a share a year earlier.

From The Wall Street Journal

The company’s board declared a final dividend of 7.5 pence a share, in line with its interim payout and down sharply from 24.4 pence a year before.

From The Wall Street Journal