Definition of PENALTY

penalty

Plural: penalties

Noun

  • A punishment for breaking a rule or law.
  • the act of punishing
  • a payment required for not fulfilling a contract
  • the disadvantage or painful consequences of an action or condition
    • "neglected his health and paid the penalty"
  • (games) a handicap or disadvantage that is imposed on a competitor (or a team) for an infraction of the rules of the game
  • A legal sentence.
  • A punishment for violating rules of procedure.
  • A payment forfeited for an early withdrawal from an account or an investment.
  • In sports
  • A direct free kick from the penalty spot, taken after a defensive foul in the penalty box; a penalty kick.
  • In sports
  • A punishment for an infraction of the rules, often in the form of being removed from play for a specified amount of time.
  • A disadvantageous consequence of a previous event.

Examples

  • A penalty was called when he tripped up his opponent.
  • Forgetting to draw new tiles in Words With Friends can incur a significant PENALTY.
  • The penalty for his crime was to do hard labor.

Origin / Etymology

From Middle French pénalité, from pénal, from Latin poenālis, from poena, borrowing of Ancient Greek ποινή (poinḗ), from Proto-Hellenic *kʷoinā́, from Proto-Indo-European *kʷoynéh₂, comprising *kʷey- + *-néh₂.

Antonyms

reward

Scrabble Score: 12

penalty: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
penalty: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
penalty: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 14

penalty: valid Words With Friends Word