Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

ten-cent

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.63 in modern English

Syllables: ten--cent
IPA

9

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

3

Syllables

4

Unique Chars

Meaning

adj

two-bit (insignificant or worthless); cheap (both inexpensive and poorly made).

Dated

adj

Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see ten, cent: costing 10¢.

Dated

Example Sentences

"Near-synonyms: poor man's; (present-day analogues) dollar-store, Wish.com, (UK) Poundland, pound-shop, Tesco Value, BTEC"
"Forget that frickin' ten-cent supplier. From now on, we'll buy only from trusted partners."
"Enough of these ten-cent tools. From now on, we'll buy only the good stuff that doesn't break so easily."

Etymology

From a time when 10¢ was a commonly encountered price for cheap goods and services.

Usage

Dated

Inflected Forms

more ten-cent (comparative) most ten-cent (superlative)

Phrases

ten-cent store ten-cent tour ten-cent word fifty-cent tour

Frequently Paired Words

fifty-cent tour

Synonyms

poor man's dollar-store Wish.com Poundland pound-shop Tesco Value BTEC

Questions

What does ten-cent mean?: two-bit (insignificant or worthless); cheap (both inexpensive and poorly made).
Where does ten-cent come from?: From a time when 10¢ was a commonly encountered price for cheap goods and services.

How to pronounce ten-cent

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “ten-cent”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “ten-cent”.
Repeat and practice — Say “ten-cent” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.