A diminutive of the female given name Penelope.

(historical) In the United Kingdom and Ireland, 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.

In the United Kingdom, a unit of currency worth 1⁄100 of a pound sterling, or a copper coin worth this amount. Abbreviation: p.

(historical) In Ireland, a coin worth 1⁄100 of an Irish pound before the introduction of the euro. Abbreviation: p.

In the US and (formerly) 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.

(slang) To jam a door shut by inserting pennies between the doorframe and the door.

(electronics) 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.

(Oxbridge slang) During a meal or as part of a drinking game, to drop a penny in a person's drink with the expectation that they finish it (or some such variation thereof); commonly associated with crewdates at Oxford and swaps at Cambridge.