centennial

American  

[sen-ten-ee-uhl] / sɛnˈtɛn i əl /

adjective

1. pertaining to, or marking the completion of, a period of 100 years.

2. pertaining to a 100th anniversary.

3. lasting 100 years.

4. 100 years old.

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noun

centennials plural

1. a 100th anniversary or its celebration; centenary.

centennial British  

/ sɛnˈtɛnɪəl /

adjective

1. relating to, lasting for, or completing a period of 100 years

2. occurring every 100 years

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noun

1. another name for centenary

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• precentennial
  adjective
• centennially
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• centennials
  plural

Etymology

Origin of centennial

1790–1800; < Latin cent- 100 ( see cent) + English -ennial pertaining to a period of years (extracted from biennial )

Explanation

If your parents are celebrating their centennial wedding anniversary, make sure you throw them a really big party. Centennial is a word to describe something that has lasted for 100 years — so your parents have been married an unusually long time! When you notice the cent- bit in the word centennial you probably think of words like century (100 years) and cent (100 pennies that make up a dollar), and that tips you off that centennial has something to do with the number 100. What these words all share in common is an origin in the Latin word centum, meaning 100. In the case of the adjective centennial, the addition of -ennial gives the word its sense of describing a one hundred year anniversary.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

centennial centennials

The first World’s Fair held in America would be happening at the same time in Philadelphia, so the city was also chosen as the site of the centennial events.

From Salon ● Jun. 30, 2026

Very little came off exactly as planned, given the still-tight budget, but by the time Sullivan County celebrated its centennial in 2025, its future seemed auspicious if not guaranteed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 11, 2026

This year’s centennial improvements along the route “are things that are going to go into the future,” Martin said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 6, 2026

Wie West retired three years ago after the Open at Pebble Beach, but came out of retirement to use her last year of exemption to play on this iconic course, celebrating its centennial.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2026

Considering that the next centennial celebration would be in the year 2035, we didn’t think Grandma would have a problem with it.

From "A Long Way from Chicago" by Richard Peck

Turkcan said millennials were born between 1979 and 1996, and centennials - the next major generation for baseball - began in 1997 and ended between four and eight years ago.

From Washington Times ● Feb. 27, 2019

Turkcan said millennials were born between 1979 and 1996, and centennials — the next major generation for baseball — began in 1997 and ended between four and eight years ago.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 26, 2019

A closing-night gala salutes the centennials of Jerome Robbins and Leonard Bernstein.

From New York Times ● May 17, 2018

From Bernstein centennials at Tanglewood to Mahler in the desert, concerts across the country you don’t want to miss this season.

From New York Times ● May 17, 2018

On the southern side of the street were a mix of larger apartment buildings, and at either end of the block were churches that had recently celebrated their centennials.

From "The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street" by Karina Yan Glaser

Related Words

• annual
• intermittent
• monthly
• occasional
• recurrent
• recurring
• regular
• repeated
• routine
• seasonal
• sporadic
• weekly
• yearly