penn
penn — noun
1. a short written form of the name Pennsylvania, the US state in the northeastern
a short written form of the name Pennsylvania, the US state in the northeastern part of the country, used mainly in addresses, road signs, and official names.
The Amtrak train from New York arrived at Penn Station on time.
proper noun in station name: Penn Station
The truck driver took the Penn Turnpike all the way from Harrisburg to Pittsburgh.
proper noun in road name: Penn Turnpike
Their new mailing address is 42 Elm Street, Penn Hills, PA 15235.
abbreviation in place name: Penn Hills
Rodrigo drove south on Penn Avenue past the old city hall building.
proper noun in street name: Penn Avenue
The letter was sent to a small post office in Penn Township near the border.
- Penn Station
- Penn Turnpike
- Penn Avenue
- Penn Hills
- Penn Township
Grammar Patterns
Penn + noun (place name)
Usage Note
Always capitalised in writing. Used mainly in official place names (roads, stations, townships) and postal addresses. 'PA' is the standard two-letter postal abbreviation; 'Penn' appears in full proper names.
Common Mistakes
2. a short informal name for the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League u
a short informal name for the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League university in Philadelphia — used in the names of its schools, programs, and teams.
Tendai applied to Penn Law School and was accepted in early March.
short form + school name: Penn Law School
The Penn campus along the Schuylkill River is one of the oldest in the country.
Dahlia studied at the Penn Graduate School of Education for her master's degree.
short form + department name: Penn Graduate School of Education
Penn's Wharton School offers one of the top business programmes in the world.
possessive: Penn's + school name
The Penn Quakers basketball team won the Ivy League championship that season.
- Penn Law
- Penn Medicine
- Penn campus
- Penn alum
- Penn student
Grammar Patterns
Penn + noun (school, department, program)
Usage Note
Always capitalised. Used in both formal university contexts (official school names, publications) and informal speech. 'Penn' without further qualification nearly always refers to the University of Pennsylvania, not Pennsylvania State University (which is 'Penn State').