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Meaning & use

century

noun·Everyday

Last updated

UK/ˈsentʃəri/
US/ˈsentʃəri/

Meanings

  1. nouncountable

    A period of one hundred years, especially one counted from the start of a calendar era.

    Grammar: Often used with an ordinal: the nineteenth century.

    Patterns

    • the twentieth century
    • for centuries
    • a century ago

    The castle was built in the twelfth century.

    Languages have changed greatly over the past century.

    Telescopes have been used for four centuries.

  2. nouncountablesport

    A score of one hundred runs by one batter in cricket.

    Grammar: Used with score or make: score a century.

    Patterns

    • score a century

    He scored a century in his first match.

    The crowd stood to applaud her century.

    It was the batter's third century of the season.

  3. nouncountablespecialist

    A group of one hundred, such as soldiers in ancient Rome.

    Grammar: Historical sense, now rare outside Roman history.

    Patterns

    • a century of soldiers

    A Roman century was commanded by a centurion.

    The officer led a century into the town.

    Each legion contained many centuries.

Word forms

pluralcenturies

Common combinations

the 21st century
Many jobs in the 21st century involve computers.
turn of the century
The house dates from the turn of the century.
half a century
She taught at the school for half a century.
mid-century
They bought a mid-century chair.
centuries-old
The bridge is a centuries-old structure.

Synonyms and how they differ

hundred years
Hundred years is the plain, spoken way to say century and needs no calendar start.
era
An era is a period defined by its character, not a fixed length.
age
An age is a long period marked by a feature, such as the Ice Age, so it is not exactly one hundred years.
centennial
A centennial is the hundredth anniversary of an event.

Word family

centennial noun
a hundredth anniversary
centurion noun
an officer in the ancient Roman army
bicentenary noun
a two-hundredth anniversary
century-old adjective
one hundred years old

Commonly confused: century or decade?

century vs decade

A decade is ten years, not a hundred.

Practice

The year 1850 falls in the ___ century.

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