PENNY (pence)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected form: pence   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does penny mean? 

• PENNY (noun)
  The noun PENNY has 2 senses:

1. a fractional monetary unit of Ireland and the United Kingdom; equal to one hundredth of a pound

2. a coin worth one-hundredth of the value of the basic unit

  Familiarity information: PENNY used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PENNY (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A fractional monetary unit of Ireland and the United Kingdom; equal to one hundredth of a pound

Classified under:

Nouns denoting quantities and units of measure

Hypernyms ("penny" is a kind of...):

fractional monetary unit; subunit (a monetary unit that is valued at a fraction (usually one hundredth) of the basic monetary unit)

Holonyms ("penny" is a part of...):

British pound; British pound sterling; pound; pound sterling; quid (the basic unit of money in Great Britain and Northern Ireland; equal to 100 pence)

Irish pound; Irish punt; pound; punt (formerly the basic unit of money in Ireland; equal to 100 pence)

Sense 2

Meaning:

A coin worth one-hundredth of the value of the basic unit

Classified under:

Nouns denoting possession and transfer of possession

Synonyms:

cent; centime; penny

Hypernyms ("penny" is a kind of...):

coin (a flat metal piece (usually a disc) used as money)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "penny"):

copper (a copper penny)

new penny (a coin used in Great Britain since 1971 worth one hundredth of a pound)

 Context examples 

I'd have married you if you hadn't a penny, and I sometimes wish you were poor that I might show how much I love you.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

Every pocket stuffed with pennies and half-pennies—421 pennies and 270 half-pennies.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

For these manuscripts he never received a penny.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

She—as had never seen it in her life—alone—without a penny—young—so pretty—come to London.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Meantime he began to be tired, and hungry too, for he had given away his last penny in his joy at getting the cow.

(Fairy Tales, by The Brothers Grimm)

Not five shillings, sir; nor five pence.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

But, with your favor, friend, I must gather my arrows again, for while a shaft costs a penny a poor man can scarce leave them sticking in wayside stumps.

(The White Company, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I am sure of a good income of my own; and if she had not a penny, why, so much the better.

(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)

The next morning brought Elinor a letter by the two-penny post from Lucy herself.

(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)

Don’t look to me for a penny—not a penny!

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)