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penny

penny

513 1.0
A small coin worth one of 100 parts of a pound or dollar
  • noun
  • /ˈpɛni/
translation icon : centavo
  • I found a shiny penny on the sidewalk this morning.
  • spend every penny
  • never earned a penny
  • a few pennies

Yeah, they get a few ad pennies from Google.

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Examples

  • I've not taken a single penny from any country whatsoever.

  • It was worth every penny.

  • You paid a penny to enter and sit down.

  • I found a lucky penny.

  • It was worth every single penny that we paid to go see it.

  • It won't cost you a penny, but you just need to sign up.

  • Every penny of it.

  • If this guy is who you think he's gonna be, he'll be the best thing that ever happened to this company and he'll be worth every penny.

  • Occasionally, one will break from the stream of traffic and place a penny in Frank's outstretched palm.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • Mostly pennies.

Synonyms

cent
vspenny
950 1.0

A small coin worth one hundredth of a dollar

is the same fractional coin value used in other monetary systems
copper
vspenny
  • Archaic
11 1.4

A small brown coin like a penny

is defined by value rather than by metal composition
pennyworth
vspenny
  • Archaic
4 9.9

A small amount of something you can buy for one penny

is the coin itself rather than an amount bought with it
centime
vspenny
1 7.6

A small coin equal to one hundredth of a franc used in French-speaking countries

is the same fractional unit but not limited to those countries
new penny
vspenny
  • Archaic
1 5.3

A coin worth one hundredth of a pound first made in Britain in 1971

is the general small coin worth one hundredth across currencies
penn'orth
vspenny
  • Archaic
9.9

A small amount you can buy for one penny

is the coin itself rather than a spoken amount

Idioms

13 3.4

Gives good value for the money spent

a pretty penny
  • Informal
11 7.0

A large amount of money that is higher than expected

3 7.4

To ask someone what they are thinking when they have been silent

every last penny
  • Informal
3 3.1

All the money a person has

bad penny
  • Informal
2 7.7

Something unwanted that keeps coming back

Careful about small costs but careless with larger ones

1 8.6

Very common and not worth much

Very bright and shiny, like a new coin

1 9.9

To go to the toilet to pee

Very likely to happen

Something surprising and out of place in a situation

To be very unwilling to spend money, even small amounts

Make good money from a business or activity

two a penny
  • Archaic
8.1

Very common and not worth much

two-a-penny
  • Archaic
9.1

Very common and not worth much

Compounds

penny stock
  • Specialized
4 6.4

A very cheap share of a small public company usually under one dollar

penny ante
  • Informal
1 7.9

A game people play for very small bets or something people think is not important

penny arcade
  • Archaic
1 7.0

A place with game machines you play by putting in coins for cheap fun

penny pincher
  • Informal
1 5.8

A person who spends very little money to save as much as possible

penny-pinching
  • Informal
1 7.5

A strong unwillingness to spend money

new penny
  • Archaic
1 5.3

A coin worth one hundredth of a pound first made in Britain in 1971

penny dreadful
  • Archaic
1 9.5

A cheap short book that tells exciting, often scary stories

penny ante poker
  • Informal
5.3

A casual card game played for very small amounts of money

A small container for keeping coins, often shaped like a pig

9.8

A smelly weed with round flat seed pods that grows in fields

penny wedding
  • Archaic
9.1

A simple, inexpensive wedding where guests give small gifts or money

penny-a-liner
  • Offensive
9.9

A writer who makes many bad articles for little pay

How Valuable

sovereign
33 6.8
crown
  • Archaic
8 9.9
shilling
  • Archaic
35 9.9
soldi
  • Archaic
9.9
penny
513 1.0
farthing
  • Archaic
5 9.9

Surface Forms

penny singular
pennies plural

Etymology

The word penny comes from the old English word pening, a name for a 'small coin' and the same family as German Pfennig and Dutch penning. So a penny still means the smallest coin or unit of money you carry as change.