Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

red cent

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.71 in modern English

Syllables: red -cent
IPA

10

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

2

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A copper penny.

American usage

noun

A very small amount of money.

American usage; Colloquial

Example Sentences

"I wouldn't pay one red cent for a ticket."
"Snorkey. But I ain't got two cents. What's a fellow to do if he hasn't got a red?"
"Day by day for two-and-a-half years, I've seen resources diminishing, disappearing. We're begging, damn near down on our knees, and not getting one red cent."
"My dad said he wasn't going to pay the bastards ten red cents."

Etymology

Probably from the color of the copper from which the coin was minted. Prior to 1864, a brighter nickel-based cent was used, often called the white cent. It is also possible that the red originally referred to the obverse bearing an Indian head stamp. See Indian Head cent.

Usage

American usage
Colloquial

Inflected Forms

red cents (plural)

Synonyms

damn darn hoot shit shucks tinker's damn tinker's dam

Questions

What does red cent mean?: A copper penny.
Where does red cent come from?: Probably from the color of the copper from which the coin was minted. Prior to 1864, a brighter nickel-based cent was used, often called the white cent. It is also possible that the red originally referred to the obverse bearing an Indian head stamp. See Indian Head cent.

How to pronounce red cent

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “red 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 “red cent”.
Repeat and practice — Say “red cent” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.