kopeck
Americannoun
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an aluminum-bronze coin of Russia, the Soviet Union, and its successor states, one 100th of a ruble.
noun
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a monetary unit of Russia and Belarus worth one hundredth of a rouble: coins are still used as tokens for coin-operated machinery although the kopeck itself is virtually valueless
Etymology
Origin of kopeck
First recorded in 1690–1700; from Russian kopéĭka, equivalent to kopʾë “lance, spear” + -ka diminutive suffix; so called from the lance with which the figure on the coin was armed
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Russian 1000-rouble banknotes, 50 and 10 kopeck coins are seen on a table at a private company's office in Krasnoyarsk, Siberia November 6, 2014.
From Reuters • Feb. 24, 2022
Too bad the fellow is actually no official at all — just a dissolute ne’er-do-well and lowly government clerk without a kopeck to his name, who merrily plays along.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 1, 2017
The dogged peasant keeps after the miser; he wants his kopeck back.
From New York Times • Oct. 14, 2017
Angry, Ms. Gorbunova decided not to repay a kopeck, she said in newspaper and television interviews.
From New York Times • Apr. 29, 2016
It was too dismal to confess he had not collected a kopeck or one recruit.
From Ghetto Comedies by Zangwill, Israel
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.