Meaning & use
centurion
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountablespecialist
An officer in the ancient Roman army who commanded about a hundred soldiers.
Grammar: Refers only to Rome: a Roman centurion.
Patterns
- a centurion of the legion
The centurion ordered his men to form a line at the gate.
A Roman centurion carried a staff made of vine wood.
The centurion in the story begged the teacher to heal his servant.
Word forms
| plural | centurions |
|---|
Common combinations
- a Roman centurion
- A Roman centurion led the patrol along the road.
- a centurion's helmet
- The museum displays a centurion's helmet found near the fort.
- command as a centurion
- He earned the right to command as a centurion after years of service.
- a centurion and his men
- A centurion and his men guarded the bridge.
Synonyms and how they differ
- captain
- Captain is a modern officer rank that is only roughly like a centurion, so it is a loose comparison.
- legionary
- Legionary is an ordinary soldier in the legion, so it is a rank below a centurion.
- officer
- Officer is general, while centurion names a specific Roman rank.
Word family
Commonly confused: centurion or century?
centurion vs century
A century is a period of a hundred years or, in Rome, a company of soldiers, while a centurion is the officer who led it.
Practice
In the ancient Roman army, a centurion was most likely to ___.
Choose one answer.
A centurion was an army officer who commanded about a hundred men. The other options are other Roman jobs.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “centurion”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.