How to use penny in a sentence

40 example sentences · noun, verb

Penny means 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. Example: “Zach and Ben had only been at college for a week when their door was pennied by the girls down the hall.”

Examples of penny by meaning

nounIn the United Kingdom and Ireland and many other countries, a unit of currency worth ¹⁄₂₄₀ of a pound sterling or Irish...

We had not proceeded very far across the south cantilever when we saw a penny lying beside the track, and another a short distance further on.1950 March, H. A. Vallance, “On Foot Across the Forth Bridge”, in Railway Magazine, page 150
However he lost out, as other business interests whom he had alienated by his efforts to squeeze every penny of profit from the canal, supported the construction of the railway.2025 June 25, Christian Wolmar, “How slow boats gradually gave way to rail”, in RAIL, number 1038, page 57

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

A hundred and eleven pennies!2015 November 22, “Pennies”, in Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, season 3, episode 35, John Oliver (actor), via HBO
A Treasury spokesperson said the government made its final order of penny blanks this month, and the United States Mint will continue to manufacture pennies only as long as an inventory of penny blanks exists.2025 May 22, Chris Isidore and Matt Egan, “The Treasury unveils its plan to kill the penny”, in CNN Business

nounMoney in general.

to turn an honest penny

verbTo 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.

verbDuring a meal or as part of a drinking game, to drop a penny in a person's drink with the expectation that they finish...

You got pennied! Down it, fresher.

More sentences with penny

Penny was wearing a miniskirt, so she skinned her exposed knees when she fell.From the entry knee
Penny was in the scullery, pressing the body of her new dress.From the entry body
A pint of beer in the saloon bar costs a penny more than in the public bar.From the entry saloon
Over the years, he developed a reputation as a penny pincher who wouldn't spend money for anything.From the entry penny pincher
Why play those piddly penny slots when you can win big time at the roulette wheel, man?From the entry piddly
They could charge a pretty penny as they had a captive audience.From the entry pretty penny
That's just my two pennies' worth; you can believe what you like.From the entry two pennies' worth
My uncle gambled away his fortune, and now he hardly has a penny to his name.From the entry to one's name
Jam pennies were reportedly a favourite food of Queen Elizabeth II.From the entry jam penny
He can gamble away his last penny for all I care.From the entry for all someone cares
We turned a pretty penny with that little scheme.From the entry turn
People with your skills are ten a penny these days.From the entry ten a penny
The pile of pennies began to topple.From the entry topple
A penny saved is a penny earned.From the entry saved
The penny dropped as Fred realised he had been conned.From the entry the penny drops
Remember those clear globe dispensers with gumballs for a penny?From the entry gumball
Having tripped the bank's alarms, he simply uttered: "in for a penny, in for a pound", and continued on.From the entry in for a penny, in for a pound
They cost 50 pence a pop.From the entry pop
It costs only pennies per day.From the entry pennies
The fix I made was just a penny in the fusebox; we need to revisit it and fix the problem for real.From the entry penny in the fusebox
His cheapness was legendary; he refused to use candles or lamps, not to reduce the risk of fire but rather to save a penny.From the entry cheapness
Penny also received a framed copy of her original picture next to the final digital copy.2022 November 30, “Stop & Examine”, in RAIL, number 971, page 87. From the entry framed
She has never seen the side of life where every penny counts.2022 February 11, Val Savage, “'Shameful footballer Kurt Zouma should have been kicked into touch for cat attack'”, in The Mirror…. From the entry chopse
Pence went on to say that America did not seek a technological decoupling from China.2021 February, Eric Boehm, “A Silicon Curtain Descends”, in Reason, published 2020. From the entry silicon curtain
In all the examples mentioned earlier, consumers wouldn’t pay pennies every day by venmoing the seller.2019, Utpal Dholakia, “Is It Worth the Price?”, in Priced to Influence, Sell & Satisfy: Lessons from Behavioral Economics for Pricing…. From the entry venmo
Just a few pennies made all the difference, if you knew how to scrimp and save.2019, Julia Elliot, “Hellion”, in Anthony Doerr, Heidi Pitlor, editor, The Best American Short Stories 2019, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt…. From the entry Dr Pepper
Calls to cut and run without paying a penny in the Brexit settlement are unlawful and unethical.2017 May 3, Helena Kennedy, “You can’t just cut and run from Europe, Theresa May – it’s illegal”, in The Guardian. From the entry cut and run
“I believe we’re being asked to chase pennies with dollars, and it will cost the taxpayers.”2015, Glen Gainer, Charleston Gazette-Mail, State employee pay switch plan placed on hold. From the entry chase pennies with dollars
They love to dump the pennies on the floor and count them.2014, Jon Weece, Jesus Prom: Life Gets Fun When You Love People Like God Does, Nelson Books, →ISBN, page 110. From the entry Abraham Lincoln
The penny bun can be found in many regions and in a variety of woodland.2013, Pelle Holmberg, Hans Marklund, The Pocket Guide to Wild Mushrooms, →ISBN. From the entry penny bun
"I bet you a penny to a pound that's menstrual blood."2013 September 10, Elva Thompson, Heartstar: Book One: the Key Made of Air, iUniverse, →ISBN, page 105. From the entry witch's egg
Traditionally it would cost two and six – two shillings and six pence.[2008, Marcus Waring, The Deranged Book for Old Timers, page 68. From the entry bed and breakfast
Aircraft were given names such as The Bad Penny (as in a bad penny always turns up).2005, Ron Greer and Mike Wicks, Fire from the Sky: A diary over Japan (2013 iUniverse edition), p. 184 (Google preview). From the entry a bad penny always turns up

Meaning of penny

noun 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.
noun In the United Kingdom, a unit of currency worth ¹⁄₁₀₀ of a pound sterling, or a copper coin worth this amount. Abbreviation: p.
noun In Ireland, a coin worth ¹⁄₁₀₀ of an Irish pound before the introduction of the euro. Abbreviation: p.

Full definition of penny

Questions about penny in a sentence

How do you use penny in a sentence?: Penny is used as a noun and verb. For example: “Zach and Ben had only been at college for a week when their door was pennied by the girls down the hall.”
What is a short sentence with penny?: “A hundred and eleven pennies!”
What does penny mean?: Penny means 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.

Adapted from Wiktionary: penny (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated: 2026-09-02

Cite this page: “How to use penny in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/penny. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.