Meanings
plural red cents
- USA copper penny.
- UScolloquialA very small amount of money.
I wouldn't pay one red cent for a ticket.
3 more examples
Snorkey. But I ain't got two cents. What's a fellow to do if he hasn't got a red?
1867, Augustin Daly, Under the Gaslight, Act III, Scene 2, page 28Day by day for two-and-a-half years, I've seen resources diminishing, disappearing. We're begging, damn near down on our knees, and not getting one red cent.
1989 December 10, John Zeh, quoting Tony Allen, “AIDS Groups' Execs Arrested In D.C.”, in Gay Community News, volume 17, number 22, page 1My dad said he wasn't going to pay the bastards ten red cents.
2011, Jann Arden, Falling Backwards: A Memoir, page 158
Synonyms & antonyms
nounsomething of little value
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
Probably from the color of the copper from which the coin was minted. Prior to 1864, a brighter nickel-based cent was used, often called the white cent. It is also possible that the red originally referred to the obverse bearing an Indian head stamp. See Indian Head cent.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Danish rød øre
- rød ørea very small amount of money in the negative
Dutch rooie cent
- rooie centa very small amount of money in the negative
Finnish penni
- pennia very small amount of money in the negative
French liard
- liarda very small amount of money in the negative
Japanese びた一文
- びた一文 (bita ichimon)a very small amount of money in the negative
Polish grosz, złamany szeląg
- grosza very small amount of money in the negative
- złamany szeląga very small amount of money in the negative
- złamany grosza very small amount of money in the negative
Portuguese tostão
- tostãoa very small amount of money in the negative
Cite this entry
red cent. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/red%20cent
“red cent.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/red%20cent. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “red cent,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/red%20cent.
Source: red cent on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.