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# penny

noun (penny, pennies, pence)

«penny» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. A penny is a coin. In the US and Canada a penny is 1 cent; in Britain a penny is 1p and 100 pence make 1 pound. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/penny/#m1)
2. «Not a penny» means no money at all. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/penny/#m2)
3. «The penny dropped» means someone finally understood. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/penny/#m3)

### In the lessons

In maths: a coin of small value; counting coins and their value; changing pennies to dollars or pence to pounds. In everyday life: saving pennies in a piggy bank. In stories and sayings: «a penny for your thoughts», «in for a penny, in for a pound», «a penny saved is a penny earned».

### Examples

- He has 25 pennies. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/penny/#x1)
- How many pennies make a dime? [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/penny/#x2)
- She saved 50 pennies. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/penny/#x3)
- Each sweet costs 5 pence. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/penny/#x4)
- A hundred pennies make one dollar. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/penny/#x5)
- He didn't have a penny left. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/penny/#x6)
- After a minute, the penny dropped and she laughed. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/penny/#x7)
- A penny for your thoughts? [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/penny/#x8)
- But I have only fifty pennies. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/penny/#x9)

### Note

One penny = 1 cent; 100 pennies = 1 dollar. Plural «pennies» counts coins; «pence» is the British amount. Trap: change pennies to dollars by dividing by 100. 10 pennies = 1 dime; 5 pennies = 1 nickel. In Ireland and Australia, the old penny is no longer used (euro cents and Australian cents). Canada no longer makes pennies, so prices are rounded to 5 cents when paying cash.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «penny» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/penny/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«penny» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/penny.html) on Mova free.