red cent

American  

noun

Informal.

1. a cent, as representative of triviality.

   His promise isn't worth a red cent.

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red cent British  

noun

1. informal (used with a negative) a cent considered as a trivial amount of money (esp in the phrases not have a red cent , not worth a red cent , etc)

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red cent Idioms  

1. see under not worth a dime.

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Etymology

Origin of red cent

An Americanism dating back to 1830–40

Example Sentences

He skipped town to avoid paying one red cent to your mother in child support, and now he’s back.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 25, 2026

You can spend the exact same amount on everyone’s birthdays and holidays down to a single red cent.

From Slate • Dec. 17, 2020

“Yeah, it took off on its own. Like, there was not one red cent behind it. No marketing, no nothing,” said Brown.

From Fox News • Nov. 1, 2019

The highly unusual suit does not name the city of Seattle or the City Council as defendants, pointedly stating that Officers Scott Miller and Michael Spaulding “do not want one red cent of public money.”

From Seattle Times • Aug. 22, 2017

Which, by the way, Mother’s group has never raised one red cent for me, to help put in upstairs plumbing at the Equatorial, for example.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver