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| pen·ny [ pénnee ] (plural pen·nies) |
noun |
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| Definition: |
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1. coin in United States and Canada: a U.S. and Canadian coin worth one cent
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2. small British coin: a subunit of currency in the United Kingdom.
Symbol p
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3. former British coin: a bronze coin or a unit of money used in Britain before 1971, worth one twelfth of a shilling, or one two-hundred-and-fortieth of a pound.
Symbol d
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4. coin with low value: a coin or monetary unit with a low value in some countries
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5. very small amount of money: a very small amount of money
  It won't cost you a penny.
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| [ Old English peniġ< Germanic] |
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a penny for your thoughts used to ask somebody what he or she is thinking about
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cost a pretty penny to cost a great deal of money
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in for a penny, in for a pound U.K. if you decide to do something, you should do it wholeheartedly and boldly, and accept any resulting problems or difficulties
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penny wise and pound foolish economical with regard to small items of expenditure but extravagant with regard to large items
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the penny dropped somebody suddenly understood or realized something
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turn up like a bad penny to keep making unwelcome appearances
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two or ten a penny very numerous or common, and therefore of little value
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