Meaning & use
cent
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Meanings
nouncountable
a small unit of money equal to one hundredth of a dollar or other basic currency
Grammar: Countable: one cent, two cents. Often used in the phrase 'not a cent' to mean no money at all.
Patterns
- a few cents
- not a cent
- fifty cents
- cents per dollar
The candy costs fifty cents.
I don't have a cent in my pocket.
Prices rose by only a few cents per gallon.
nouncountable
a coin or unit of currency in various countries, such as the euro cent
Grammar: Use with a specific currency: a euro cent, a US cent. The plural is cents.
Patterns
- euro cent
- US cent
- Canadian cent
The euro is divided into 100 cents.
She found a Canadian cent on the sidewalk.
The vending machine only accepts coins of 10, 20, and 50 cents.
Word forms
| plural | cents |
|---|
Common combinations
- not a cent
- He didn't pay a cent for the repair.
- fifty cents
- The bus fare is fifty cents for children.
- a few cents
- The price went up by a few cents.
- cent sign
- The cent sign (¢) is used in some price tags.
Synonyms and how they differ
- penny
- In the US, 'penny' is an informal word for a one-cent coin; in the UK, it is a unit of British currency. Use 'cent' for the official unit.
Word family
- percentage noun
- A rate or proportion per hundred, related to the idea of 'cent' as hundred.
Commonly confused: cent or sent? cent or scent?
cent vs sent
Sent is the past tense of 'send'. Cent is a unit of money. They sound the same but are different words.
cent vs scent
Scent is a smell. Cent is money. They are pronounced the same.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'cent' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Only option C uses 'cent' to mean a small unit of money. Option A uses 'sent' (past tense of send). Option B uses 'cent' instead of 'scent' (smell). Option D also confuses 'cent' with 'sense' (ability).
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “cent”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.