Definition of penalty
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.
3a : 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
penalty
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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
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Reuters reports that Friday’s sanctions represent the minimum penalty that could have been imposed by the UN.
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On sanctions, Putin singled out Italy for praise, not only for being against the penalties imposed on Russia following the 2014 annexation of Crimea but also for opposing such measures in general as a brake on global growth.
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But Levine pointed out that the draconian penalties originally proposed, which would have withheld all state funding from the city if the deadline was not met, had been removed.
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Should he be ultimately judged guilty of the NCAA's allegations against him, Farrar could face a multi-year show-cause penalty.
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House Democrats approved bills on immigrant protections and penalties for repeat gun offenders over the holiday weekend but have yet to act on an annual budget.
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The tie remained until Allen’s penalty kick early in the second half.
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Wasserman emphasized that rhetoric about unduly harsh penalties for low-level drug offenders isn’t as relevant at the federal level, where prosecutions focus on large-scale operations, the big fish.
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UPS must pay $247 million in damages and penalties to New York City and New York State for illegally shipping cigarettes, a federal judge ordered Thursday.
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
First Known Use: 15th century
PENALTY Defined for English Language Learners
penalty
playDefinition of penalty for English Language Learners
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: punishment for breaking a rule or law
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: a disadvantage or difficulty you experience
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: a punishment or disadvantage given to a team or player for breaking a rule in a game
PENALTY Defined for Kids
penalty
playDefinition of penalty for Students
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
playLegal Definition of penalty
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 the court declined to enforce the contractual penalty and determined actual damages instead
Learn More about penalty
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Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for penalty Spanish Central: Translation of penalty Nglish: Translation of penalty for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of penalty for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about penalty
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