Dictionary
pen•ny
Pronunciation: (pen'ē), [key]
—n., pl. pen•nies, (esp. collectively for 2, 3) pence,
—adj.
—
n.
1. a bronze coin, the 100th part of the dollars of various nations, as Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United States; one cent.
2. Also called
new penny. a bronze coin and monetary unit of the United Kingdom and various other nations, the 100th part of a pound.
Abbr.: p
3. a former bronze coin and monetary unit of the United Kingdom and various other nations, the 12th part of a shilling: use phased out in 1971.
Abbr.: d.
4. a sum of money:
He spent every penny he ever earned.
5. the length of a nail in terms of certain standard designations from twopenny to sixtypenny.
6. a bad penny, someone or something undesirable.
7. a pretty penny, Informal.a considerable sum of money:
Their car must have cost them a pretty penny.
8. spend a penny, to urinate: from the former cost of using a public lavatory.
9. turn an honest penny, to earn one's living honestly; make money by fair means:
He's never turned an honest penny in his life.
—
adj.
Stock Exchange.of, pertaining to, or being penny stock:
frenzied speculation in the penny market. Pen•ny
Pronunciation: (pen'ē), [key]—
n.
a female given name, form of
Penelope. Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.
