26984 words

penny

10 definitions • 13 examples
1
the smallest unit of money in the UK, of which there are 100 in a pound, or a small coin worth this much. You use "pence" or, more informally, "p" when you are talking about the units of money and pennies when you are talking about the coins themselves:

Examples:

Could you lend me 50 pence/50p please?
I found a ten/twenty/fifty pence piece (= a coin of this value) on the floor.
I keep pennies and other small coins in a jar.
2
in the US and Canada, a cent or a coin of this value
3
in the UK before 1971, a large coin. There were twelve pennies in a shilling.
4
used when talking about the smallest amount of money possible:

Examples:

Buy a TV now and it won't cost you a penny (= will cost nothing) for three months.
It was an expensive meal but worth every penny.
5
used in the past with numbers to show how many pence something cost:

Examples:

a fourpenny ice-cream
6
in the US and Canada, a coin worth 1/100th of a dollar; a cent:

Examples:

I keep pennies in a jar.
7
A penny can also mean the smallest amount of money possible or the total cost of something:

Examples:

Our insurance didn’t cover a penny of our medical bills.
It was an expensive meal but worth every penny.
8
the smallest unit of money used in the UK. There are 100 pence in one pound (= the currency of the UK):

Examples:

a 20/50p piece
Shares in the rival group are up 7 pence at 638p.
9
in the US and Canada, a cent (= one hundredth of a dollar)
10
used in expressions to refer to a very small amount of money:

Examples:

We have never taken a penny of aid from federal government.
If you pay it back within six months, you won't pay a penny in interest.

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