tenpenny

[ ten-pen-ee, -puh-nee ]

/ ˈtɛnˌpɛn i, -pə ni /

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adjective

noting a nail 3 inches (7.6 centimeters) in length. Symbol: 10d.

worth or costing 10 cents.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Origin of tenpenny

A late Middle English word dating back to 1400–50; see origin at ten, penny

Words nearby tenpenny

tenorist, tenorite, tenorrhaphy, tenosynovitis, tenotomy, tenpenny, ten percenter, tenpin, tenpin bowling, tenpins, tenpounder

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use tenpenny in a sentence

Nails driven through the palms of her hands,—tenpenny nails,—under the hypnotic suggestion that she wasn't being hurt.
The Faith Healer|William Vaughn Moody
And with that he took out the two tenpenny nails with his fingers just as easy as if they had been put in by women.
Jerry's Reward|Evelyn Snead Barnett
They would not know how to exaggerate a broom-stick; for the life of them they could not exaggerate a tenpenny nail.
Appreciations and Criticisms of the Works of Charles Dickens|G. K. Chesterton
I don't call it just the thing to drive a tenpenny nail square through a lead pipe, pull it out, and say nothing about it.
Homes And How To Make Them|Eugene Gardner

She was in great want of the tenpenny piece, and she was going to sell herself to get it, when I gave it to her.
Legends of Saints & Sinners|Douglas Hyde

British Dictionary definitions for tenpenny

tenpenny

/ (ˈtɛnpənɪ) /

adjective

(prenominal) US and Canadian (of a nail) three inches in length

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