punishment: The government is proposing tougher punishments for officials convicted of corruption.
price: He's paying the price for working his body so hard.
fine: She had to pay a fine.
pe n|al|ty area (penalty areas ) N‑COUNT In football, the penalty area is the rectangular area in front of the goal. Inside this area the goalkeeper is allowed to handle the ball, and if the defending team breaks a rule here, the opposing team gets a penalty. [mainly BRIT ]
pe n|al|ty box (penalty boxes )
1 N‑COUNT In football, the penalty box is the same as the penalty area . [mainly BRIT ]
2 N‑COUNT In ice hockey, the penalty box is an area in which players who have broken a rule have to sit for a period of time.
pe n|al|ty shoo t-out (penalty shoot-outs ) N‑COUNT In football, a penalty shoot-out is a way of deciding the result of a game that has ended in a draw. Players from each team try to score a goal in turn until one player fails to score and their team loses the game. [mainly BRIT ]
pen|ance /pe nəns/ (penances ) N‑VAR If you do penance for something wrong that you have done, you do something that you find unpleasant to show that you are sorry. □ …a time of fasting, penance and pilgrimage.
pe n and i nk ADJ [usu ADJ n] A pen and ink drawing is done using a pen rather than a pencil.
pence /pe ns/ → see penny
pen|chant /pɒ nʃɒn, pe ntʃənt/ N‑SING If someone has a penchant for something, they have a special liking for it or a tendency to do it. [FORMAL ] □ [+ for ] …a stylish woman with a penchant for dark glasses.
pen|cil /pe ns ə l/ (pencils , pencilling , pencilled )
1 N‑COUNT [oft in N ] A pencil is an object that you write or draw with. It consists of a thin piece of wood with a rod of a black or coloured substance through the middle. If you write or draw something in pencil , you do it using a pencil. □ I found a pencil and some blank paper in her desk. □ He had written her a note in pencil.
2 VERB If you pencil a letter or a note, you write it using a pencil. □ [V n + to ] He pencilled a note to Joseph Daniels. ● pen|cilled ADJ □ …folded notepaper with the pencilled block letters on the outside.
▸ pencil in PHRASAL VERB [usu passive] If an event or appointment is pencilled in , it has been agreed that it should take place, but it will have to be confirmed later. □ [be V -ed P ] He told us that the tour was pencilled in for the following March.
pe n|cil push|er (pencil pushers ) N‑COUNT If you call someone a pencil pusher , you mean that their work consists of writing or dealing with documents, and does not seem very useful or important. [AM , DISAPPROVAL ] □ …the pencil pushers who decide the course of people's lives. in BRIT, use pen-pusher
pen|dant /pe ndənt/ (pendants ) N‑COUNT A pendant is an ornament on a chain that you wear round your neck.
pend|ing /pe nd I ŋ/
1 ADJ If something such as a legal procedure is pending , it is waiting to be dealt with or settled. [FORMAL ] □ In 1989, the court had 600 pending cases. □ She had a libel action against the magazine pending.
2 PREP If something is done pending a future event, it is done until that event happens. [FORMAL ] □ A judge has suspended a ban on the magazine pending a full inquiry.
3 ADJ Something that is pending is going to happen soon. [FORMAL ] □ A growing number of customers have been inquiring about the pending price rises.
pen|du|lous /pe ndʒʊləs/ ADJ Something that is pendulous hangs downwards and moves loosely, usually in an unattractive way. [LITERARY ] □ …a stout, gloomy man with a pendulous lower lip. □ …pendulous cheeks.
pen|du|lum /pe ndʒʊləm/ (pendulums )
1 N‑COUNT The pendulum of a clock is a rod with a weight at the end which swings from side to side in order to make the clock work.
2 N‑SING You can use the idea of a pendulum and the way it swings regularly as a way of talking about regular changes in a situation or in people's opinions. □ The political pendulum has swung in favour of the liberals.
pen|etrate /pe n I tre I t/ (penetrates , penetrating , penetrated )
1 VERB If something or someone penetrates a physical object or an area, they succeed in getting into it or passing through it. □ [V n] X-rays can penetrate many objects. ● pen|etra|tion /pe n I tre I ʃ ə n/ N‑UNCOUNT □ [+ by ] The exterior walls are three to three and a half feet thick to prevent penetration by bombs.
2 VERB If someone penetrates an organization, a group, or a profession, they succeed in entering it although it is difficult to do so. □ [V n] …the continuing failure of women to penetrate the higher levels of engineering.
3 VERB If someone penetrates an enemy group or a rival organization, they succeed in joining it in order to get information or cause trouble. □ [V n] The CIA were trying to penetrate a crime ring operating out of Munich. ● pen|etra|tion N‑UNCOUNT □ [+ of ] …the successful penetration of the country's intelligence service.
4 VERB If a company or country penetrates a market or area, they succeed in selling their products there. [BUSINESS ] □ [V n] There have been around 15 attempts from outside France to penetrate the market. ● pen|etra|tion N‑UNCOUNT □ …import penetration across a broad range of heavy industries.
pen|etrat|ing /pe n I tre I t I ŋ/