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• cent
  cent

  noun

  one 100th of the dollar, or other basic monetary unit, of various nations, including the United States. ¢, c
• cent-
  cent-

  variant of centi- before a vowel.
• cent.
  cent.

  abbreviation

  centigrade.

cent

¹ American  

[sent] / sɛnt /

noun

• cents
  plural

1. one 100th of the dollar, or other basic monetary unit, of various nations, including the United States. ¢, c

2. penny.

   Sorry, I’ve only got two dimes, a nickel, and four cents.

3. a monetary unit of certain European Union countries, one 100th of a euro.

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cent- ² American  

1. variant of centi- before a vowel.

   centare.

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cent. ³ American  

abbreviation

1. centigrade.

2. central.

3. centum.

4. century.

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cent British  

/ sɛnt /

noun

1. a monetary unit of American Samoa, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Australia, Austria, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Bermuda, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Brunei, Canada, the Cayman Islands, Cyprus, Dominica, East Timor, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, French Guiana, Germany, Greece, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guyana, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Kosovo, Liberia, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, the Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritius, Mayotte, Micronesia, Monaco, Montenegro, Namibia, Nauru, the Netherlands, the Netherlands Antilles, New Zealand, the Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Réunion, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, the Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Surinam, Swaziland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, the United States, the Vatican City, the Virgin Islands, and Zimbabwe. It is worth one hundredth of their respective standard units

2. an interval of pitch between two frequencies f 2 and f 1 equal to 3986.31 log ( f 2 / f 1 ); one twelve-hundredth of the interval between two frequencies having the ratio 1:2 (an octave)

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cent Idioms  

1. see for two cents; not worth a dime (red cent); put in one's two cents.

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Usage

What does cent- mean? Cent- is a combining form used like a prefix meaning “hundredth” or "hundred."Cent- comes from the Latin centum, meaning “hundred.” The word cent, as in a hundredth of a dollar and also known as a penny, ultimately comes from this same Latin root, as does percent. The Greek word for “hundred” is hekatón, source of the combining forms hecto-, hect-, hekto-, and hekt-, which you can learn more about in our Words That Use articles for the forms. Cent- is a variant of centi-, which loses its -i- when combined with words or word elements beginning with vowels. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use centi- article.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• cents
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of cent

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English, from Latin centēsimus “hundredth” (by shortening), equivalent to cent(um) “100” ( see hundred) + -ēsimus ordinal suffix

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Explanation

A cent is a very small unit of money. In the US, one cent is the same thing as one penny. A cent is 1/100 of a dollar — in other words, there are 100 cents in a dollar. Many other currencies have a cent as well, including the European Union, Estonia, and Hong Kong, representing 1/100 of the basic unit of money. The word cent comes from the Latin centum, "hundred." In Middle English, cent meant "one hundred," but by the 1600s it came to mean "one hundredth."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cent cent- cent. cents

However, the midpoint of its expectations for adjusted earnings of between $2.15 and $2.35 per share came in one cent below the consensus.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 4, 2026

The company used its position to squeeze every cent from suppliers and got flash makers to open their books so it could monitor sales, making sure no one else got a better deal.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026

Atlantic Lottery - another government-owned corporation that manages lotteries - told Canadian media that about one per cent of prizes go unclaimed, often much smaller sums.

From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2026

Between 2020 and 2025, the carbon footprint of its investments had dropped 42 per cent, the fund said.

From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2026

We’re a hundred per cent supportive, aren’t we, Lia?

From "Wintergirls" by Laurie Halse Anderson

It was followed by several shells which dropped into the dunes, not far from the French battery of cent- vingt.

From The Soul of the War by Philip Gibbs

Asked if he understood the supporters' reaction at the result, Frank said: "Yes, 100 per cent. We all sense the frustration and the emotions. That is part of football."

From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2025

“After 30 years now, my likeness is still being used. I don’t see a cent. They’re still exploiting my image,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2023

"It's not about me, it's about what's right for the club. We have 30,000 shareholders who own approximately 13.5 per cent. We run this club as if it is a public company."

From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2023

"They would rather risk your health than sacrifice a single cent. Disgusting."

From Salon ● Feb. 22, 2023

“I’ve got the only one I ever met whom I would trust seventy-five per cent. I’ve told her that,” he said.

From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey

Oil futures ticked down 18 cents, or 0.2%, to $88.56 a barrel in New York, completing their largest two-week retreat since June.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 13, 2026

But half of Australia's living cricket royalty and a slew of former coaches - some of whom have been accused of wrongdoing too - have thrown in their two cents.

From BBC ● Nov. 13, 2026

Measure FD will generate about $345 million annually for the city Fire Department by raising the city’s retail sales tax from 10.25% to 10.75%, which is about 5 cents more for every $10 spent.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 12, 2026

That compares with a loss of $22.2 million, or 41 cents a share, a year earlier.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 12, 2026

At a price of 7, Greg Lippmann allowed Morgan Stanley to exit a trade it had entered into at roughly 100 cents on the dollar.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

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