Meanings
- UKidiomaticnot comparableVery likely; almost certainly.
"I'll lay you a pound to a penny that proud Miss Nelly marries John Ormandy in the end."
c. 1872, Holme Lee (pseudonym of Harriet Parr), “Too Prudent by Half; or, Proud Nelly Kingsland”, in Country Stories, Old and New. In Prose and Verse, volume 1, Smith, Elder & Co., published 1872, page 2652 more examples
...and where was out boy? ...Discharged early from the National Service in Cyprus! A pound to a penny he was home with Mum...
2010, P. F Bonneton, The Seeds of Time, →ISBN, page 150Mrs. Seaton raised her eyebrows. "What does she think will happen? She might respect what you have to say, but I'll put a pound to a penny no one else at that table will."
2015, Rachel Brimble, chapter 17, in What a Woman Desires, →ISBN, page 160Synonyms: bet a dollar to a dime, bet dollars to donuts, bet one's boots, bet one's bottom dollar, bet the farm, take to the bank
Synonyms & antonyms
adverbVery likely; almost certainly.
Cite this entry
a pound to a penny. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/a%20pound%20to%20a%20penny
“a pound to a penny.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/a%20pound%20to%20a%20penny. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “a pound to a penny,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/a%20pound%20to%20a%20penny.
Source: a pound to a penny on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.