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sen

1 American  
[sen] / sɛn /

noun

plural

sen

  1. a money of account of Japan, one 100th of a yen, now used only in certain quotations, as on foreign exchange.

sen 2 American  
[sen] / sɛn /

noun

plural

sen

  1. a money of account of Cambodia, one 100th of a riel.

sen 3 American  
[sen] / sɛn /

noun

plural

sen

  1. an aluminum coin and monetary unit of Indonesia, one 100th of a rupiah.

  2. a bronze, cupronickel, or copper-clad coin and monetary unit of Malaysia, one 100th of a ringgit.

sen. 4 American  
Or sen.

abbreviation

  1. senate.

  2. senator.

  3. senior.

Sen. 1 British  

abbreviation

  1. senator

  2. senior

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
SEN 2 British  

abbreviation

  1. (formerly) State Enrolled Nurse

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
sen 3 British  
/ sɛn /

noun

  1. a monetary unit of Brunei, worth one hundredth of a dollar, Cambodia, worth one hundredth of a riel, Indonesia, worth one hundredth of a rupiah, Malaysia, worth one hundredth of a ringgit, and formerly of Japan (where it is still used as a unit of account)

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of sen1

First recorded in 1725–35; from Japanese, from Middle Chinese, equivalent to Chinese qián; chon

Origin of sen2

First recorded in 1960–65; from Khmer sein, probably Khmer pronunciation of the French abbreviation cent., for centime ( centime ), stamped on Cambodian coins

Origin of sen3

First recorded in 1950–55; from Malay, from English cent

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.

"What makes these organisms particularly dangerous is their ability to survive conditions that kill many other microbes," said corresponding author Longfei Shu of Sun Yat sen University.

From Science Daily • Jan. 25, 2026

A UniCredit logo is sen in downtown Rome, May 10, 2016.

From Reuters • Mar. 9, 2022

The menu features Lao dishes such as the rice noodle soup khao piak sen and beef noodle soup Lao pho.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 12, 2019

Recommended Dishes Khao yum gai zaap; gai yang; tom yum; larb gai; larb neua; nam tok; yum woon sen.

From New York Times • Dec. 15, 2016

I was too old for the sen ice in World War II, but the war did make for a lot of work.

From "Life Is So Good" by George Dawson

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.