pension

[ pen-shuh n; French pahn-syawn for 3 ]

/ ˈpɛn ʃən; French pɑ̃ˈsyɔ̃ for 3 /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR pension ON THESAURUS.COM

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

pen·sion·a·ble, adjectivepen·sion·a·bly, adverbpen·sion·less, adjectivenon·pen·sion·a·ble, adjective

un·pen·sion·a·ble, adjectiveun·pen·sioned, adjectiveun·pen·sion·ing, adjectivewell-pen·sioned, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for pension

Young says she ultimately lost her health benefits and pension.
The Supreme Court Case Uniting Pro-Lifers & Pro-Choicers|Emily Shire|December 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
He returned home a pauper without a pension and 50 years later, at 70, chronicled the travails of the War of Independence.
McCain’s 13 Favorite Soldiers|Sandra McElwaine|November 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But Raimondo ran a targeted, data-driven campaign that, like the pension reforms, was driven by the facts and not by emotion.
Meet Gina Raimondo, the Only Democratic Star of 2014|David Freedlander|November 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The pension fund, the union declared, had fallen victim to “a Wall Street coup.”
Meet Gina Raimondo, the Only Democratic Star of 2014|David Freedlander|November 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST

But when Tarkhan got sick with tuberculosis and was ushered out, the government gave him no pension or medical assistance.
The Secret Life of an ISIS Warlord|Will Cathcart, Vazha Tavberidze, Nino Burchuladze|October 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
His father had just been retired on a pension and had recently lost money in two investments.
Balzac|Frederick Lawton
Then, declining to take the oath of allegiance to Louis Philippe, he retired from the peerage, and gave up his pension.
The Catholic World. Volume II; Numbers 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12.|E. Rameur
He was familiar with them, for his father, as we have said, was employed in the pension office and handled just such rolls.
The Bradys' Chinese Clew|Francis Worcester Doughty
An' you'll 'ave to pay 'undreds an' 'undreds o' pounds, besides a pension to the missus.
The Day's Work, Volume 1|Rudyard Kipling
Since this monologue was spoken the old lady has received her pension.
Workhouse Characters|Margaret Wynne Nevinson

British Dictionary definitions for pension (1 of 2)

pension

/ (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 Formspensionable, adjectivepensionless, adjective

Word 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

/ 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 Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for pension (1 of 2)

pension

mid-14c., "payment for services," especially "reward, payment out of a benefice" (early 14c., in Anglo-Latin), from Old French pension "payment, rent" (13c.) and directly from Latin pensionem (nominative pensio) "a payment, installment, rent," from past participle stem of pendere "pay, weigh" (see pendant). Meaning "regular payment in consideration of past service" first recorded 1520s. Meaning "boarding house, boarding school" first attested 1640s, from French, and usually in reference to places in France or elsewhere on the Continent.

Word Origin and History for pension (1 of 2)

pension

1640s, "to live in a pension," from pension (n.) or else from French pensionner. Meaning "to grant a pension" is from 1702. Related: Pensioned; pensioning.

Culture definitions for pension

pension

Payments made to a retired person either by the government or by a former employer.

pension

noun, plural pen·sions [pen-shuh nz; French pahn-syawn for 3] /ˈpɛn ʃənz; French pɑ̃ˈsyɔ̃ for 3/.

verb (used with object)

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of pension

Examples from the Web for pension

British Dictionary definitions for pension (1 of 2)

pension

noun

verb

Word Origin for pension

British Dictionary definitions for pension (2 of 2)

pension

noun (in France and some other countries)

Word Origin for pension

Word Origin and History for pension (1 of 2)

pension

Word Origin and History for pension (1 of 2)

pension

Culture definitions for pension

pension