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# penalty

«penalty» in Mova's school dictionary: **a punishment for breaking a rule or a law, such as paying…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (a penalty, penalties)

### meaning for a pupil

1) A penalty is a punishment for breaking a rule or a law, such as paying money (a fine). [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/penalty/#m1)

2) In sports like football (soccer), rugby or hockey, a penalty is a free chance given to one team because the other team broke a rule; in football it is a shot at goal from a spot near the goal. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/penalty/#m2)

### sense in the lessons

In sports lessons a penalty is a key rule idea: break a rule and your team loses something. In everyday life libraries, parking and tax offices charge penalties. Phrases: «take a penalty», «score a penalty», «a penalty shoot-out», «penalty kick», «on penalty of», «pay a penalty».

### examples

- The referee gave our team a penalty. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/penalty/#x1)
- She scored the penalty and we won 2–1. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/penalty/#x2)
- The match ended in a penalty shoot-out. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/penalty/#x3)
- There is a penalty for returning library books late. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/penalty/#x4)
- Dropping litter can bring a penalty of fifty dollars. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/penalty/#x5)
- In hockey a player who trips someone goes to the penalty box. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/penalty/#x6)
- The penalty for cheating on the test was a zero. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/penalty/#x7)
- And if he failed, his head would pay the penalty. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/penalty/#x8)

### note

Countable: penalty, penalties (y → ies). Stress on the first syllable: PEN-al-ty. The verb is «penalise» (UK) or «penalize» (US). In a maths problem a penalty usually means points or money taken away (subtract).

### In the corpora

- ["The ultimate penalty" means the death penalty: the law kills (executes) the criminal.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/28-stealing-and-lying/11/)
- [Then he went in goal for the Year 3s' lunchtime match, dived full length in the mud and saved a penalty.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/385-respect-how-it-is-earned/1/)
- [Jayden cried after losing a football game final on penalties and felt babyish.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/398-sore-losers-and-button-mashers/19/)
- [Nerves release adrenaline, which speeds up the heart and breathing even when you stand still, for example before a penalty.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/medicine/36-heart-and-lungs-when-you-run/15/)
- [The goalkeeper is the only player allowed to handle the ball, and only inside their own penalty area.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/medicine/41-football-positions-rules-and-scoring/6/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «penalty» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/penalty/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.