penalty

noun pen·al·ty \ ˈpe-nᵊl-tē \

Updated on: 15 Apr 2018

Definition of penalty

plural penalties

1 : the suffering in person, rights, or property that is annexed by law or judicial decision to the commission of a crime or public offense

trespassing forbidden under penalty of imprisonment

2 : the suffering or the sum to be forfeited to which a person agrees to be subjected in case of nonfulfillment of stipulations

A penalty was imposed on the contractor for breach of contract.

3 a : disadvantage, loss, or hardship due to some action

Loss of privacy is one of the penalties you pay for fame.

b : a disadvantage (such as loss of yardage, time, or possession of the ball or an addition to or subtraction from the score) imposed on a team or competitor for violation of the rules of a sport

The team was given a penalty for the foul.

4 : points scored in bridge by the side that defeats the opposing contract —usually used in plural

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penalty

adjective

See penalty defined for English-language learners

See penalty defined for kids

Examples of penalty in a Sentence

The company was given a severe penalty for the violation.
They allowed him to pay back the money without a penalty.
They allowed him to pay back the money without penalty.
Lack of privacy is one of the penalties you pay for fame.
The hockey player was given a penalty for holding.

Recent Examples of penalty from the Web

The Italian giant came agonizingly close to overturning Real Madrid's three-goal first leg lead in the Spanish capital, but instead went down to a late penalty.

— euan mckirdy, CNN, "Juventus comes up short in bid to overturn Real advantage," 12 Apr. 2018
While Parsons did not talk about what led to the interaction with the official, he and the club may have been unhappy with the referee's decision not to call a penalty in the 80th minute when Midge Purce appeared to be taken down in the box.

— jamie goldberg, OregonLive.com, "Referee union condemns 'insulting' actions by Thorns coach Mark Parsons, NWSL's handling of situation," 11 Apr. 2018
Then near the hour mark, Dzeko earned a penalty that Daniele De Rossi converted to set the stage for Manolas' late header.

— stephen sorace, Fox News, "Italian commentator’s goal call goes viral after Roma stuns Barcelona," 11 Apr. 2018
Tuesday’s was a guest from Uzbekistan who was neither intimidated by the Azteca atmosphere nor fooled by the 55th-minute dive by Alex Ibarra, who was searching for a penalty that would tie the game.

— brian straus, SI.com, "Toronto FC Earns Matchup With Chivas de Guadalajara in Concacaf Champions League finals," 11 Apr. 2018
But the point of this one is regardless of intent, the optics aren’t great with a NASCAR official looking this friendly with a team after not dishing out a penalty.

— michelle r. martinelli, For The Win, "Kevin Harvick’s crew chief on team's fist-bump with official: ‘won’t ever happen again’," 11 Apr. 2018
Congress did repeal the unpopular requirement that most Americans carry insurance or risk a tax penalty but that takes effect next year.

— BostonGlobe.com, "Fact-checking Trump’s State of the Union address," 10 Apr. 2018
In one setback, the company ran into trouble over a 2008 trade in Wells Fargo trade and paid a $1.3 million penalty.

— katherine peralta and rick rothacker, charlotteobserver, "Next in sale of Carolina Panthers? What we know, and where process stands today | Charlotte Observer," 10 Apr. 2018
The team must play there through June, 2019, or pay a penalty to break the agreement.

— ken belson, New York Times, "Carolina Panthers Sweepstakes Enters Its Home Stretch," 9 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'penalty.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of penalty

Middle English penalte, from Middle French penalité, from Medieval Latin poenalitas, from Latin poenalis

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

penalty Synonyms

PENALTY Defined for English Language Learners

penalty

noun

Definition of penalty for English Language Learners

: punishment for breaking a rule or law
: a disadvantage or difficulty you experience
: a punishment or disadvantage given to a team or player for breaking a rule in a game

PENALTY Defined for Kids

penalty

noun pen·al·ty \ ˈpe-nᵊl-tē \

Definition of penalty for Students

plural penalties

1 : punishment for doing something wrong

2 : a disadvantage given for breaking a rule in a sport or game

Word Root of penalty

The Latin word poena, meaning “punishment,” gives us the root pen or pun. Words from the Latin poena have something to do with punishments. A penalty is a punishment for doing something wrong. Anything penal, such as a group of laws, explains punishments for specific crimes. Punish and punishment also come from poena.

Law Dictionary

penalty

noun pen·al·ty \ ˈpen-ᵊl-tē \

legal Definition of penalty

plural penalties

1 : a punishment that is imposed on a wrongdoer by statute or judicial decision

2 : a pecuniary sum that by agreement is to be paid by a party who fails to fulfill an obligation to another and that is punitive rather than compensatory