penny

[ pen-ee ]

/ ˈpɛn i /

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noun, plural pen·nies, (especially collectively for 3, 4) pence.

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.

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.

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

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. Abbreviation: d.

a sum of money: He spent every penny he ever earned.

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

adjective

Stock Exchange. of, relating to, or being penny stock: frenzied speculation in the penny market.

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Idioms about penny

a bad penny, someone or something undesirable.

a pretty penny, Informal. a considerable sum of money:Their car must have cost them a pretty penny.

spend a penny, Chiefly British Slang. to urinate.

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.

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; see -ing³. The origin of spend a penny is from the former cost of using a public lavatory

OTHER WORDS FROM penny

pen·nied, adjectiveun·pen·nied, adjective

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH penny

penne, penny

Words nearby penny

Pennsauken, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Dutch, Pennsylvanian, Penn, William, penny, penny-a-liner, penny ante, penny arcade, Penny Black, pennyboy

Other definitions for penny (2 of 2)

Penny

[ pen-ee ]

/ ˈpɛn i /

noun

a female given name, form of Penelope.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use penny in a sentence

In today’s essay, I look at the bubbly trade in penny and loss-making stocks, including the crazy surge in GameStop.
What the savvy investor can learn from the bonkers rally in GameStop shares|Bernhard Warner|January 25, 2021|Fortune
Phil Knight, who with his wife, Penny, made the second- and third-largest donations last year according to the Chronicle, increased his wealth by about 77% over the same March-to-December period.
Jeff Bezos made the single-largest charitable donation of 2020, toward climate change|lbelanger225|January 5, 2021|Fortune
While most prison jobs pay pennies on the hour, a few prison jobs, such as making furniture, pay $1 an hour, Bryant said.
A high school student needed help with tuition, so an unlikely group stepped up: Prison inmates|Kellie B. Gormly|January 1, 2021|Washington Post
In this case, fixing just the worst fridges would cut vaccine damage in half and save lives for pennies on the dollar.
Once a COVID-19 vaccine is discovered, the hard part begins|jakemeth|September 17, 2020|Fortune

Now, Watson can answer 75% of the questions people ask, and Otsego County has started paying for the service, which Pokorny says costs “pennies” per conversation.
Millions of Americans Have Lost Jobs in the Pandemic—And Robots and AI Are Replacing Them Faster Than Ever|Alana Semuels|August 6, 2020|Time
They deserve every penny and more: booking a four week tour is a huge job.
How Much Money Does a Band Really Make on Tour?|Jack Conte|December 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“Every single witness is inadmissible, hearsay, triple-hearsay,” said assistant state attorney Penny Brill in court yesterday.
Did Pablo Escobar Frame a Millionaire for Murdering Banana-Shipping Money Launderers?|Jacqui Goddard|November 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She regressed to the mental state of a toddler lost in a J.C. Penny department store.
How Aidy Bryant Stealthily Became Your Favorite ‘Saturday Night Live’ Star|Kevin Fallon|October 31, 2014|DAILY BEAST
“I have not been paid and will not be paid a single penny,” he declared.
Greenwald, Assange, and Snowden Join Forces with Kim Dotcom in New Zealand Election|Lennox Samuels|September 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
While there I am, getting mad at my wife for sending me cards all the time because I know she needs every penny right now.
Deep Thoughts from War Machine's Sexist, Racist Prison Blog|Melissa Leon|August 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In 1603 it was ordered that one quart of best ale, or two of small, should be sold for one penny.
Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham|Thomas T. Harman and Walter Showell
Since the end of 1847, not a penny has come into his own pocket either through piano-playing and conducting, or through teaching.
Music-Study in Germany|Amy Fay
A system of supplying school-children with penny dinners is the latest philanthropic movement.
Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham|Thomas T. Harman and Walter Showell
In the same year he also manufactured two million penny tokens for our soldiers in Spain, which were not forbidden.
Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham|Thomas T. Harman and Walter Showell
The penny at that time was equal to a shilling of the present day, and would, relatively, purchase as much.
Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham|Thomas T. Harman and Walter Showell

British Dictionary definitions for penny

penny

/ (ˈpɛnɪ) /

noun plural pennies or pence (pɛns)

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

(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 poundAbbreviation: d

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

plural pennies (in the US and Canada) a cent

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

(used with a negative) informal, mainly British the least amount of moneyI don't have a penny

a bad penny informal, mainly British an objectionable person or thing (esp in the phrase turn up like a bad penny)

a pretty penny informal a considerable sum of money

spend a penny British informal to urinate

the penny dropped informal, mainly British the explanation of something was finally realized

two a penny plentiful but of little value

Word Origin for penny

Old English penig, pening; related to Old Saxon penni (n) g, Old High German pfeni (n) c, German Pfennig

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with penny

penny

In addition to the idioms beginning with penny

penny for your thoughts, a
penny pincher
penny saved is a penny earned, a
penny wise and pound foolish

also see:

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

penny

Idioms about penny

Origin of penny

OTHER WORDS FROM penny

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH penny

Words nearby penny

Other definitions for penny (2 of 2)

Words related to penny

How to use penny in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for penny

Word Origin for penny

Other Idioms and Phrases with penny