noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   The value of six old pence; half of a shilling; or one-fortieth of a pound sterling. British, Irish, obsolete, uncountable

   "Finest apples, sixpence each."

2. 2
   a small coin of the United Kingdom worth six pennies; not minted since 1970 wordnet
3. 3
   A former British or Irish coin worth six pennies, first minted in 1551. countable, historical, uncountable

   "Have you got two sixpences for a shilling?"

Synonyms

All synonyms

tannerbobcrowndollarfarthinggroat

Example

More examples

"He gave away the shop to make a sixpence."

Etymology

From six + pence.

Related phrases

look as if one had lost a shilling and found sixpencelook as if one has lost a shilling and found sixpencemill-sixpenceon a sixpenceupon a sixpenceold pencepound sterling

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.