Definition of "penny" in English

noun

1. (historical) 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.

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

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

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

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

7. Money in general.

   • to turn an honest penny

verb

1. (slang) 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.

2. (electronics) 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.

3. (Oxbridge slang) 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.