pinchpenny

P3I1N1C3H4P3E1N1N1Y4

noun

One who spends little money; one who is very frugal or cautious with money.

“Over the years, he developed a reputation as a pinchpenny who wouldn't spend money for anything.”

First used before 1578Scrabble 22
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Meanings

nounpinchpenny (plural pinchpennies)

plural pinchpennies

  1. One who spends little money; one who is very frugal or cautious with money.First known use before 1578

    Over the years, he developed a reputation as a pinchpenny who wouldn't spend money for anything.

    1 more example

    That they accompt one a dastard if he be not defperate, a pynch penny if he be not prodygall, if filent a fotte, if full of wordes a foole?

    1578, John Lyly, Euphues: The Anatomy of Wit, published 1868, page 109

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
miserpickpennypinch-commonspinch-gut

Origin

From pinch + penny.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

pinchpenny. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pinchpenny

MLA

“pinchpenny.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pinchpenny. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pinchpenny,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pinchpenny.

Source: pinchpenny on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.