penny wise, pound foolish

A form of penny wise and pound foolish — Prudent and thrifty with small amounts of money, but wasteful with large amounts.

Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

adjective
  1. alternativeAlternative form of penny wise and pound foolish.
Cite this entry
APA

penny wise, pound foolish. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/penny%20wise%2C%20pound%20foolish

MLA

“penny wise, pound foolish.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/penny%20wise%2C%20pound%20foolish. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “penny wise, pound foolish,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/penny%20wise%2C%20pound%20foolish.

Source: penny wise, pound foolish on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.