pension
[ pen-shuh n; French pahn-syawn for 3 ]
/ ˈpɛn ʃən; French pɑ̃ˈsyɔ̃ for 3 /
noun, plural pen·sions [pen-shuh nz; French pahn-syawn for 3] /ˈpɛn ʃənz; French pɑ̃ˈsyɔ̃ for 3/.
a fixed amount, other than wages, paid at regular intervals to a person or to the person's surviving dependents in consideration of past services, age, merit, poverty, injury or loss sustained, etc.: a retirement pension.
an allowance, annuity, or subsidy.
(in France and elsewhere in continental Europe)
- a boardinghouse or small hotel.
- room and board.
verb (used with object)
to grant or pay a pension to.
to cause to retire on a pension (usually followed by off).
Nearby words
pensacola bay, pensel, penshurst place, pensil, pensile, pension, pension fund, pension mortgage, pension off, pension plan, pensionary
Origin of pension
1325–75; Middle English (< Old French pensïon) < Latin pēnsiōn- (stem of pēnsiō) a weighing out, hence, a paying out, installment paying, equivalent to pēns(us) (past participle of pendere to weigh out, pay by weight, equivalent to pend- verb stem + -tus past participle suffix, with dt > s) + -iōn- -ion
Related forms
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for pension
British Dictionary definitions for pension (1 of 2)
pension
1/ (ˈpɛnʃən) /
noun
a regular payment made by the state to people over a certain age to enable them to subsist without having to work
a regular payment made by an employer to former employees after they retire
a regular payment made to a retired person as the result of his or her contributions to a personal pension scheme
any regular payment made on charitable grounds, by way of patronage, or in recognition of merit, service, etca pension paid to a disabled soldier
verb
(tr) to grant a pension to
Derived Forms
pensionable, adjectivepensionless, adjectiveWord Origin for pension
C14: via Old French from Latin pēnsiō a payment, from pendere to pay
British Dictionary definitions for pension (2 of 2)
pension
2/ French (pɑ̃sjɔ̃) /
noun (in France and some other countries)
a relatively cheap boarding house
another name for full board
Word Origin for pension
C17: French; extended meaning of pension grant; see pension 1
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Culture definitions for pension
pension
Payments made to a retired person either by the government or by a former employer.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.