tenpenny
Americanadjective
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noting a nail 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) in length. 10d.
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worth or costing 10 cents.
adjective
Etymology
Origin of tenpenny
A late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; see origin at ten, penny
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Cowan’s Roosevelt slashes the air with his right hand while making key points; he clips his words with a speaking style that one contemporary likened to biting off tenpenny nails.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 29, 2016
When torn, butyl clings together so that when a tenpenny nail was driven into a tube that had run 35,000 miles, the tube stood up for miles without going flat.
From Time Magazine Archive
That could hardly have worried Harold Stassen less: he was already hard at work hammering tenpenny nails into his political platform.
From Time Magazine Archive
The strongest magnet ever made will not pull tenpenny nails out of a board at a distance of one yard.
From Time Magazine Archive
One curious feature of the tenpenny and shilling stamps must be mentioned.
From Peeps at Postage Stamps by Johnson, Stanley Currie
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
