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Definition of penny noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

penny

noun
 
 
/ˈpeni/
 
/ˈpeni/
(plural pennies, pence
 
/pens/
 
/pens/
)
In senses 1 and 2, pennies is used to refer to the coins, and pence to refer to an amount of money. In sense 3, the plural is pennies.Idioms
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  1.  
    (abbreviation p)
    a small British coin and unit of money. There are 100 pence in one pound (£1).
    • He had a few pennies in his pocket.
    • That will be 45 pence, please.
    • They cost 20p each.
    Topics Moneya2
  2. (abbreviation d)
     a British coin in use until 1971. There were twelve pennies in one shilling and twenty shillings in a pound.
  3.  
     (North American English) a cent
    • The fee ranges from a few pennies to $30 or more.
    Topics Moneya2
    4. Word OriginOld English penig, penning of Germanic origin; related to Dutch penning, German Pfennig, perhaps also to the verb pawn and (with reference to shape) pan.
Idioms
every penny
  1. all of the money
    • We collected £700 and every penny went to charity.
    • She’s on a high salary but I’m sure she deserves every penny.
in for a penny, in for a pound
  1. (saying) used to say that since you have started to do something, it is worth spending as much time or money as you need to in order to complete it
not a penny
  1. no money at all
    • It didn't cost a penny.
    • He has never paid me a penny.
    • She hasn’t got a penny to her name.
the penny drops
  1. (informal, especially British English) used to say that somebody has finally understood or realized something that they had not understood or realized before
    • I had to explain the joke to her a couple of times before the penny dropped.
a penny for your thoughts | a penny for them
  1. (saying) used to ask somebody what they are thinking about
pinch pennies
  1. (informal) to try to spend as little money as possible
a pretty penny
  1. (old-fashioned) a lot of money
    • I bet that cost you a pretty penny.
spend a penny
  1. (old-fashioned, British English) people say ‘spend a penny’ to avoid saying ‘use the toilet’
turn up like a bad penny
  1. (informal) (of a person) to appear when they are not welcome or not wanted, especially when this happens regularly
two/ten a penny (British English)
(North American English a dime a dozen)
  1. very common and therefore not valuable
    • Teachers of history are ten a penny.
See penny in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary
Check pronunciation: penny

Nearby words

trait
noun
 
 
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