in for a penny, in for a pound

UK/ɪn fəɹə ˈpɛ.ni ɪn fəɹə paʊnd/US/ɪn fɔɹ ə ˈpɛ.ni ɪn fɔɹ ə paʊnd/

in for a penny, in for a pound proverb: expressing that, having begun something (that involves significant risk or effort), one intends to see it to completion rather than stopping short.

Proverb

in for a penny, in for a pound

(UK) Expressing that, having begun something (that involves significant risk or effort), one intends to see it to completion rather than stopping short.
- Having tripped the bank's alarms, he simply uttered: "in for a penny, in for a pound", and continued on.
- Well than, O'er shooes, o'er boots. And In for a Penny, in for a Pound. Whee—ho— Toby.1695, Edward Ravenscroft, The Canterbury Guests, or, a Bargain Broken a Comedy: Acted at the Theatre-Royal, London: Daniel Brown, John Walthoe, →OCLC, act V, scene i, page 50
Synonyms:

in for a dime, in for a dollar, in for an inch, in for a mile

in for a penny, in for a pound meaning in Vietnamese

in for a penny, in for a pound in Vietnamese

Expressing recognition that one must, having started something, see it through to its end, rather than stopping short thereof: đâm lao thì phải theo lao

Examples of in for a penny, in for a pound in a sentence

Nothing venture, nothing win - / Blood is thick, but water's thin - / In for a penny, in for a pound - / It's love that makes the world go round!1882, November 25 (first performance), W[illiam] S[chwenck] Gilbert; Arthur Sullivan, music, […] Iolanthe; or, The Peer and the Peri...
Under the circumstances it seemed to be a case of ‘in for a penny, in for a pound’.1964, J. F. Holleman, Experiment in Swaziland: report of the Swaziland sample survey, 1960, page 9:
…in for a penny, in for a pound: if one undertakes something, it must be carried through at whatever cost.1964, Sanki Ichikawa, The Kenkyusha Dictionary of Current English Idioms, page 509:
It appears to be a situation where the greenhouse proponents are in for a penny, in for a pound.2004, M. Mihkel Mathiesen, Global Warming in a Politically Correct Climate: How Truth Became Controversial, page 133:

Synonyms of in for a penny, in for a pound

Antonyms

if you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop digging
It's never the wrong time to make the right decision
don't throw good money after bad

Origin of in for a penny, in for a pound

Originally with reference to the fact that if one owed a penny, one might as well owe a pound (pound sterling, UK currency) as the penalties for non-payment were virtually identical in severity.

Questions about in for a penny, in for a pound

What does in for a penny, in for a pound mean?: In for a penny, in for a pound means expressing that, having begun something (that involves significant risk or effort), one intends to see it to completion rather than stopping short.
What is in for a penny, in for a pound in Vietnamese?: In for a penny, in for a pound in Vietnamese is đâm lao thì phải theo lao. See In for a penny, in for a pound meaning in Vietnamese.
How do you use in for a penny, in for a pound in a sentence?: Nothing venture, nothing win - / Blood is thick, but water's thin - / In for a penny, in for a pound - / It's love that makes the world go round!
What part of speech is in for a penny, in for a pound?: In for a penny, in for a pound is a proverb.
How do you pronounce in for a penny, in for a pound?: In for a penny, in for a pound is pronounced /ɪn fəɹə ˈpɛ.ni ɪn fəɹə paʊnd/ (UK).

Words near in for a penny, in for a pound in the dictionary

Adapted from Wiktionary: in for a penny, in for a pound (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-au-in for a penny, in for a pound.ogg.

Cite this entry: “in for a penny, in for a pound.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/in_for_a_penny%2C_in_for_a_pound. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.