penny

¹

[ pen-ee ]

noun

, plural pen·nies, pence.

1. a copper and zinc U.S. coin, worth one 100th of the U.S. dollar; one cent. Previous compositions of U.S. pennies included certain percentages of nickel and steel.
2. a coin worth one 100th of the dollar of various other nations, although several of these nations, as Australia and New Zealand, no longer use pennies.
3. Also called new penny. a copper-plated steel, formerly bronze, coin of the United Kingdom, one 100th of a pound. : p
4. a former bronze coin and monetary unit of the United Kingdom and various other nations, one 12th of a shilling: use phased out in 1971. : d.
5. a sum of money:

   He spent every penny he ever earned.

6. the length of a nail in terms of certain standard designations, as eightpenny and sixtypenny.

adjective

1. Stock Exchange. of, relating to, or being penny stock:

   frenzied speculation in the penny market.

Penny

²

[ pen-ee ]

noun

1. a female given name, form of Penelope.

penny

/ ˈpɛnɪ /

noun

1. Also called (formerly)new penny (in Britain) a bronze coin having a value equal to one hundredth of a pound p
2. (in Britain before 1971) a bronze or copper coin having a value equal to one twelfth of a shilling or one two-hundred-and-fortieth of a pound d
3. a former monetary unit of the Republic of Ireland worth one hundredth of a pound
4. pennies (in the US and Canada) a cent
5. a coin of similar value, as used in several other countries
6. informal.
   used with a negative the least amount of money

   I don't have a penny

7. a bad penny informal.
   an objectionable person or thing (esp in the phrase turn up like a bad penny )
8. a pretty penny informal.
   a considerable sum of money
9. spend a penny informal.
   to urinate
10. the penny dropped informal.
    the explanation of something was finally realized
11. two a penny
    plentiful but of little value

Other Words From

• pen·nied adjective
• un·pen·nied adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of penny¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English peni, Old English penig, pænig, pen(n)ning, pending, cognate with Old Frisian penning, panning, Old Saxon, Dutch penning, Old High German pfenning, phantinc, phenting ( German Pfennig ), Old Norse penningr (perhaps from Old English ); from unattested West Germanic or Germanic pandingaz, probably equivalent to unattested pand- + unattested -ingaz; -ing ³. The origin of spend a penny is from the former cost of using a public lavatory

Word History and Origins

Origin of penny¹

Old English penig, pening; related to Old Saxon penni ( n ) g, Old High German pfeni ( n ) c, German Pfennig

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. a bad penny, someone or something undesirable.
2. a pretty penny, Informal. a considerable sum of money:

   Their car must have cost them a pretty penny.

3. spend a penny, Chiefly British Slang. to urinate.
4. turn an honest penny, to earn one's living honestly; make money by fair means:

   He's never turned an honest penny in his life.

More idioms and phrases containing penny

• in for a penny, in for a pound
• pinch pennies
• pretty penny
• turn up (like a bad penny)

Example Sentences

"It's like the penny was dropping, the expectation is that you’re there for a job, and actually you’re just there as a potential piece of meat."

From BBC

But this is what he likes about children: They don’t care about squeezing every last drop of profit from every penny.

From Los Angeles Times

He told the BBC: "It was a penny dropping moment and it was a sinking feeling."

From BBC

Seeing a parallel between the colleague's detailed research and long emails and his own "the penny dropped".

From BBC

But there’s a defence review underway, and a spending review of every penny spent in Whitehall to get through first.

From BBC