penny arcade

noun

1. an amusement hall or area that contains coin-operated entertainment devices, originally operated for a penny a play.

penny arcade

noun

1. a public place with various coin-operated machines for entertainment; amusement arcade

Word History and Origins

Origin of penny arcade¹

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

They remembered how the team had arrived early for its game against the Knicks in Hershey, and how some of the players occupied themselves at a nearby penny arcade.

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He described a day that began at the Asian Art Museum, moved on to Fisherman’s Wharf where they played games in a penny arcade and admired the sea lions, then to Pier 39.

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From humble beginnings in penny arcades, Mayer helped create a golden age in Hollywood with stars like Greta Garbo and Clark Gable and classics like “The Wizard of Oz” and “Singin’ in the Rain.”

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Many businesses are shuttered up, leaving a dreary residue of penny arcades, betting shops and charity outlets.

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The pier, Domingo mused, was promising: an enclosed place—a bottleneck of carnival games and penny arcades and a century-old hippodrome—that offers no easy means of escape.

Read more on The New Yorker