pennypen‧ny /ˈpeni/ ●●● S1 noun [countable] 
The bus fare is 80 pence. a 50p piece (=coin) A loaf of bread costs 70p. b) (plural pennies) a coin worth one penny: I’ve only got a few pennies left.2 (plural pennies) a coin that is worth one cent in the US or Canada. One hundred pennies are equal to $1.3 (plural pennies or pence) (written abbreviation d) a British unit of money or coin used until 1971. There were 12 pennies in one shillingtwopence/threepence etc a book costing only sixpencefourpenny/sixpenny etc a fourpenny cigar a threepenny bit (=coin)4not a penny used to emphasize that someone has no money or that something did not cost any money: I haven’t got a penny on me. It didn’t cost me a penny. He died without a penny to his name.5every penny all of an amount of money: The hotel was expensive but it was worth every penny.penny of He was determined to go to Australia even if it took every penny of his savings.6every penny counts used to say that money is needed and even a small amount is important: Every penny counts in the battle to save the rain forests.7the/your last penny the only money that is left: She’s down to her last penny.8a penny for your thoughts/a penny for them spoken used to ask someone who is silent what they are thinking about9in for a penny, in for a pound spoken used to say that because you are already involved in something, you will complete it whatever time, money, or effort is needed: Oh well, it’s done now. In for a penny, in for a pound.10the penny (has) dropped British English informal used to say that someone has finally understood something that they had not understood before11be two/ten a penny British English to be very common and easy to get, or cheap – used to show disapproval: Rings like these are ten a penny.12turn up like a bad penny British English if someone you dislike turns up like a bad penny, they appear when they are not wanted → halfpenny, → spend a penny at spend1(5), → cost a pretty penny at pretty2(6)
WORD ORIGINpenny
Origin:
Old English penning, penigEXAMPLES FROM THE CORPUS
- Beechams Pills could be bought one at a time in a spill for a penny.
- Have them drop water on the penny until the water spills off.
- His mere re-election can be relied on to revive the market and solve those problems - without costing the public purse one penny.
- I placed the parcels on the table and Mrs Lewis gave me a piece of cake and a penny.
- Oh yes, she had plenty of money of her own, but he wouldn't touch a penny of that.
- The Strood delegate suggested that this would put a penny on the rates, but the Rochester delegate rejected the resolution.
- Who will bear responsibility for paying every penny of savings gained by top people?
WORD SETS
bob, nounbureau de change, nouncent, nouncentime, nounchange, verbC-note, nouncoin, verbcoinage, nounconvertible, adjectivecrown, nouncurrency, nouncurrency peg, nound., decimalization, noundenomination, nounDeutschmark, noundevalue, verbdime, noundinar, noundollar, noundoubloon, noundough, noundrachma, nounducat, nounexchange rate, nounfarthing, nounfifty, numberfirm, adjectivefiver, nounfive-spot, nounfloat, verbforeign exchange, nounFr, franc, noungold, noungold card, noungroat, nounguilder, nounguinea, nounhalf crown, nounhalf dollar, nounhalfpenny, nounha'penny, nounhard currency, nounkrona, nounkrone, nounKrugerrand, nounlegal tender, nounlira, nounmark, nounmill, nounmint, nounmint, verbmoney, nounmoney supply, nounnickel, nounnote, nounp., paper money, nounparity, nounpence, nounpennies, penny, nounpennyworth, nounpetrodollars, nounpiece, nounquarter, nounquid, nounrand, nounrate of exchange, nounrevalue, verbriyal, nounrouble, nounruble, nounrupee, nounsawbuck, nounshekel, nounshilling, nounsilver, nounsilver dollar, nounsingle, nounsingle currency, nounsixpence, nounsoft currency, nounsovereign, nounsterling, nounstrong, adjectivetenner, nounthreepence, nounthreepenny bit, nountraveller's cheque, nountuppence, nountuppeny, adjectivetwopenny, adjectiveweaken, verbyen, nounyuan, noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY a book costing only sixpence a fourpenny cigar a threepenny bit (=coin) It didn’t cost me a penny. He died without a penny to his name. The hotel was expensive but it was worth every penny. She’s down to her last penny.COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES Sure enough, Steve turned up like the proverbial bad penny (=suddenly appeared). Have you change for a 50-cent piece?COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE
a book costing only sixpence a fourpenny cigar a threepenny bit (=coin) It didn’t cost me a penny. He died without a penny to his name. The hotel was expensive but it was worth every penny. She’s down to her last penny. Sure enough, Steve turned up like the proverbial bad penny (=suddenly appeared). (=cost nothing)· Using the Internet, you can make phone calls that don’t cost a penny.
Have you change for a 50-cent piece?· I took long breaks away from training and would then reappear like the proverbial bad penny, as if I had never been away.
· At one time, Mr Jarvis the coalman paid a pretty penny just to park his waggons there.· It had, whatever way, and all night long for all she knew, to amount to a pretty penny.
· And Moran didn't cost them a single penny!· Not a single penny, I assure you.· His Department has not allocated a single penny to that programme for 1992-93.
NOUN· The penny farthing made its first appearance in 1870 and was ridden round the world in 1884.
· Mrs Halloran was yard monitor and her penny loafers were next to him.· The other girls are carrying purses and wearing seersucker and madras cotton blouses or printed cotton dresses and penny loafers.· Old silver heels have been abandoned under a work table in favor of scruffy penny loafers.
VERB· It won't cost you a penny.· Moira had died before she'd cost anyone a penny.· The Judge said if it had cost one penny more he would have been hanged.· And Moran didn't cost them a single penny!· Oestrogen makes women feel great and it shouldn't cost them a penny.· Warm yourself by the fireside of pure genius and it won't cost you a penny.· She wouldn't cost you a penny.· That will add 33% to its value without costing you a penny extra.
· She was paid as much as her male colleagues, and earned every penny.· For instance, what if Bozo, Inc., suffers through a recession and earns just one penny?
· Corbett gave a child a penny to hold the horses and they went into the priest's house.· My parents never gave me a penny after I turned sixteen.· Britain is not giving a penny, not even a penny black!· I was living with Desmond and I used to have to give him every goddamn penny.· The baby's two-year-old sister gave her the penny to cheer her up because she was crying.· Will talked with him for a few minutes, then gave him a penny.· She'd give away her last penny.· She has said she will not give a penny until she is entirely satisfied the unit will go ahead as planned.
· No one earning less than £21,000 will pay a penny more under us.· If you were caught speaking in vernacular you paid a penny fine.· It was a wine that they paid about a penny or twopence a glass for.· His argumentative gifts as a popular orator attracted crowds willing to pay a penny or two to hear him.· Dad doesn't have to pay another penny to Josie.· In fact, you won't have to pay a penny until you've studied your policy in depth.· They'd both been working for nearly two years, and all that time they hadn't been paid a penny.· Who will bear responsibility for paying every penny of savings gained by top people?
· The Strood delegate suggested that this would put a penny on the rates, but the Rochester delegate rejected the resolution.· His hair was so flat on top, Petey wanted to put a penny on it.· I didn't put my penny in yesterday.· A charity such as ours must constantly strive for greater efficiency, to put every penny of your subscription to good use.· You know, where you put a penny by each week in case your nipper gets sick and dies.
· A cap like a puddle now lies at his feet, to receive the odd penny.· She had been working every day for over a month, and had not received a penny for her labour.· The firm's owner assured them that he had never received a penny and was paying a large rent for his premises.· And they haven't received a penny in compensation.· And she adds: But Alan Govier from Oxford hasn't received a penny in pension payments.· He says his company paid seventy eight thousand pounds to promoters, and has never received a penny in refunds.· Neither he nor Diana receives a penny from the Civil List.
· Weeks she'd been badly, and he wouldn't hear of spending a penny on a doctor.· Smart public managers spend every penny of every line item, whether they need to or not.· Raising cash to spend a penny A CO-OPERATIVE of local councils could help reopen Langbaurgh's public toilets, a councillor claims.· Of course, I spent every penny anyway.· You do not spend a penny.· Me and you and Denver gon na spend every penny of it.· My father said not to spend a penny more than I need.
PHRASES FROM THE ENTRY► a penny for your thoughts/a penny for them► in for a penny, in for a pound► turn up like a bad pennyPHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES► give or take a few minutes/a penny/a mile etc► cost a pretty penny► not have two pennies/halfpennies/beans to rub together
1 a) (plural pence) (abbreviation p) a small unit of money in Britain. There are 100 pence in one pound: - They took everything she had, down to the last penny.
- At this point the penny dropped.
- I was about to ask Jack who it was, when the penny dropped.
- Suddenly the penny dropped, and Meredith knew why he'd been prowling about the airport like an angry lion.
- Then the penny dropped and he realised that the man had meant a fan- bearer.
- Anyway, they would fall in love with these Counts who were ten a penny and even pay for their drinks.
- Dallams were ten a penny in the backstreets of Frizingley.
- Moreover, although titles were two a penny in Cannes, Lord Westbourne was different.
- Now they are two a penny - or rather they were until 1990.
- Teachers of history are ten a penny, and out-of-work teachers of history are twenty a penny.
- There, residential and nursing homes are two a penny.
- These rings are ten a penny.
- Uncritical testimonials to the postmodern's attractions are ten a penny, and conservative denunciations thereof not much scarcer.
- It wouldn't cost him a penny to go to college here.
- The best collection I ever knew had cost its owner not a penny.
- We will carry you to San Francisco on the train, not a penny of expense to you.
- He's worth every penny they paid him.
- His father was a rickshaw puller, so every penny the family had was laboriously earned.
- Licensed dealers will hold surplus money on deposit from them and take every penny they can.
- Smart public managers spend every penny of every line item, whether they need to or not.
- So, every penny that we receive goes towards cost-effective direct provision for the single homeless.
- The price-£ 50-seemed steep, but it is worth every penny.
- The way the salaries are escalating, we have to make every penny we can in this game.
- We do not dare budget every penny of our income.
- We would live frugally, on a strict budget, and save every penny we could.
- A doubling of the set-aside rate is not good news, coming at a time when every penny counts.
- I took long breaks away from training and would then reappear like the proverbial bad penny, as if I had never been away.
- My father said not to spend a penny more than I need.
- Raising cash to spend a penny A CO-OPERATIVE of local councils could help reopen Langbaurgh's public toilets, a councillor claims.
- Weeks she'd been badly, and he wouldn't hear of spending a penny on a doctor.
- You do not spend a penny.
- Anyway, they would fall in love with these Counts who were ten a penny and even pay for their drinks.
- Colleagues, acquaintances - they are ten a penny.
- Dallams were ten a penny in the backstreets of Frizingley.
- Teachers of history are ten a penny, and out-of-work teachers of history are twenty a penny.
- These rings are ten a penny.
- Uncritical testimonials to the postmodern's attractions are ten a penny, and conservative denunciations thereof not much scarcer.
The bus fare is 80 pence. a 50p piece (=coin) A loaf of bread costs 70p. b) (plural pennies) a coin worth one penny: I’ve only got a few pennies left.2 (plural pennies) a coin that is worth one cent in the US or Canada. One hundred pennies are equal to $1.3 (plural pennies or pence) (written abbreviation d) a British unit of money or coin used until 1971. There were 12 pennies in one shillingtwopence/threepence etc a book costing only sixpencefourpenny/sixpenny etc a fourpenny cigar a threepenny bit (=coin)4not a penny used to emphasize that someone has no money or that something did not cost any money: I haven’t got a penny on me. It didn’t cost me a penny. He died without a penny to his name.5every penny all of an amount of money: The hotel was expensive but it was worth every penny.penny of He was determined to go to Australia even if it took every penny of his savings.6every penny counts used to say that money is needed and even a small amount is important: Every penny counts in the battle to save the rain forests.7the/your last penny the only money that is left: She’s down to her last penny.8a penny for your thoughts/a penny for them spoken used to ask someone who is silent what they are thinking about9in for a penny, in for a pound spoken used to say that because you are already involved in something, you will complete it whatever time, money, or effort is needed: Oh well, it’s done now. In for a penny, in for a pound.10the penny (has) dropped British English informal used to say that someone has finally understood something that they had not understood before11be two/ten a penny British English to be very common and easy to get, or cheap – used to show disapproval: Rings like these are ten a penny.12turn up like a bad penny British English if someone you dislike turns up like a bad penny, they appear when they are not wanted → halfpenny, → spend a penny at spend1(5), → cost a pretty penny at pretty2(6)