Meaning

• In the United Kingdom and Ireland, a copper coin worth 1/240 of a pound sterling or Irish pound before decimalisation. Abbreviation: d.

• In the United Kingdom, a copper coin worth 1/100 of a pound sterling. Abbreviation: p.

• In Ireland, a coin worth 1/100 of an Irish pound before the introduction of the euro. Abbreviation: p.

• In the US and Canada, a one-cent coin, worth 1/100 of a dollar. Abbreviation: ¢.

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

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

• Money in general.

  "to turn an honest penny"

Meaning

• 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."

• 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.