penny

¹ American  

[pen-ee] / ˈpɛn i /

noun

plural

pennies, pence

1. a copper and zinc U.S. coin, worth one 100th of the U.S. dollar; one cent. Previous compositions of U.S. pennies included certain percentages of nickel and steel.

2. a coin worth one 100th of the dollar of various other nations, although several of these nations, as Australia and New Zealand, no longer use pennies.

3. Also called new penny.  a copper-plated steel, formerly bronze, coin of the United Kingdom, one 100th of a pound. p

4. a former bronze coin and monetary unit of the United Kingdom and various other nations, one 12th of a shilling: use phased out in 1971. d.

5. a sum of money.

   He spent every penny he ever earned.

6. the length of a nail in terms of certain standard designations, as eightpenny and sixtypenny.

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adjective

1. Stock Exchange. of, relating to, or being penny stock.

   frenzied speculation in the penny market.

idioms

1. spend a penny, to urinate.

2. turn an honest penny, to earn one's living honestly; make money by fair means.

   He's never turned an honest penny in his life.

3. a pretty penny, a considerable sum of money.

   Their car must have cost them a pretty penny.

4. a bad penny, someone or something undesirable.

Penny ² American  

[pen-ee] / ˈpɛn i /

noun

1. a female given name, form of Penelope.

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penny British  

/ ˈpɛnɪ /

noun

1. Also called (formerly): new penny.   p.  (in Britain) a bronze coin having a value equal to one hundredth of a pound

2.  d.  (in Britain before 1971) a bronze or copper coin having a value equal to one twelfth of a shilling or one two-hundred-and-fortieth of a pound

3. a former monetary unit of the Republic of Ireland worth one hundredth of a pound

4. (in the US and Canada) a cent

5. a coin of similar value, as used in several other countries

6. informal (used with a negative) the least amount of money

   I don't have a penny

7. informal an objectionable person or thing (esp in the phrase turn up like a bad penny )

8. informal a considerable sum of money

9. informal to urinate

10. informal the explanation of something was finally realized

11. plentiful but of little value

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penny More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing penny

• in for a penny, in for a pound
• pinch pennies
• pretty penny
• turn up (like a bad penny)

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Other Word Forms

• pennied adjective
• unpennied adjective

Etymology

Origin of penny

First recorded before 900; Middle English peni, Old English penig, pænig, pen(n)ning, pending, cognate with Old Frisian penning, panning, Old Saxon, Dutch penning, Old High German pfenning, phantinc, phenting ( German Pfennig ), Old Norse penningr (perhaps from Old English ); from unattested West Germanic or Germanic pandingaz, probably equivalent to unattested pand- + unattested -ingaz; -ing ³. The origin of spend a penny is from the former cost of using a public lavatory

Example Sentences

Overall, Raj believes “it will be years before Venezuela sees a penny from oil sales and its past-due amounts are repaid.”

From MarketWatch

Overall, Raj believes “it will be years before Venezuela sees a penny from oil sales and its past-due amounts are repaid.”

From MarketWatch

Goldman defines speculative trading based on the share of volume in unprofitable stocks, penny stocks and those companies where the enterprise value to sales is higher than 10.

From MarketWatch

These microscopic machines can swim through liquid, sense their surroundings, respond on their own, operate for months at a time, and cost about one penny each to produce.

From Science Daily

Espino said the offers are pennies compared with what she needs.

From The Wall Street Journal