penny

Etymology

Definitions

1. 1

   In the United Kingdom and Ireland and many other countries, a unit of currency worth…

   In the United Kingdom and Ireland and many other countries, a unit of currency worth ¹⁄₂₄₀ of a pound sterling or Irish pound before decimalisation, or a copper coin worth this amount. Abbreviation: d.

   • However he lost out, as other business interests whom he had alienated by his efforts to squeeze every penny of profit from the canal, supported the construction of the railway.
2. 2

   In the United Kingdom, a unit of currency worth ¹⁄₁₀₀ of a pound sterling, or a copper…

   In the United Kingdom, a unit of currency worth ¹⁄₁₀₀ of a pound sterling, or a copper coin worth this amount. Abbreviation: p.

3. 3

   In Ireland, a coin worth ¹⁄₁₀₀ of an Irish pound before the introduction of the euro.…

   In Ireland, a coin worth ¹⁄₁₀₀ of an Irish pound before the introduction of the euro. Abbreviation: p.

4. ›+ 10 more definitionsshow fewer

   1. 4

      In the US and (formerly) Canada, a one-cent coin, worth ¹⁄₁₀₀ of a dollar. Abbreviation

      In the US and (formerly) Canada, a one-cent coin, worth ¹⁄₁₀₀ of a dollar. Abbreviation: ¢.

      • Holy shit! A hundred and eleven pennies! At that point, that dog had more Lincoln in him than Mary Todd.
      • A Treasury spokesperson said the government made its final order of penny blanks this month, and the United States Mint will continue to manufacture pennies only as long as an inventory of penny blanks exists.
   2. 5

      In various countries, a small-denomination copper or brass coin.

   3. 6

      A unit of nail size, said to be either the cost per 100 nails, or the number of nails per…

      A unit of nail size, said to be either the cost per 100 nails, or the number of nails per penny. Abbreviation: d.

   4. 7

      Money in general.

      • to turn an honest penny
      • What penny hath Rome borne, / What men provided, what munition sent?
   5. 8

      To jam a door shut by inserting pennies between the doorframe and the door.

      • Zach and Ben had only been at college for a week when their door was pennied by the girls down the hall.
   6. 9

      To circumvent the tripping of an electrical circuit breaker by the dangerous practice of…

      To circumvent the tripping of an electrical circuit breaker by the dangerous practice of inserting a coin in place of a fuse in a fuse socket.

   7. 10

      During a meal or as part of a drinking game, to drop a penny in a person's drink with the…

      During a meal or as part of a drinking game, to drop a penny in a person's drink with the expectation that they finish it (or some such variation thereof); commonly associated with crewdates at Oxford and swaps at Cambridge.

      • You got pennied! Down it, fresher.
   8. 11

      A diminutive of the female given name Penelope.

   9. 12

      A surname.

      • Max Cross cut a fine figure as the Colonel, Percy Penny was a somewhat unducal Duke, while Edgar McHale gave a particularly good rendering of the Major.
   10. 13

       A place name, presumably all taken from the surname

       A place name, presumably all taken from the surname:

The neighborhood

• synonymold penny
• synonym1⁄100 of a pound sterlingnew penny (old-fashioned)
• neighborpence § Descendants
• neighbord
• neighborcent