ENGLISH
REFERENCE

pence

n. uncountable
B1 Intermediate US //ˈpɛns// UK //pˈɛns// pence

n. the plural form of penny, used when talking about British money. You use this word to describe an amount of money rather than individual coins.

n. the plural of penny when referring to a sum of money or a price in British currency. Distinguished from 'pennies', which refers to individual physical coins.


SIMPLE

The newspaper costs ninety-five pence.

CONTEXTUAL

After the tax increase, the price of a litre of fuel rose by several pence overnight.

COMPLEX

In the United Kingdom, the decimal pound is divided into one hundred pence, a system that replaced the complex shillings and pence of the pre-decimal era in 1971.

Synonyms
Usage

Used as a collective plural for prices and values; 'pennies' is used for the physical coins themselves.

Pitfall

It costs five pences.It costs five pence.Pence is already the plural form for a price; do not add an 's' to it.

© 2026 English Reference