centennial
Americanadjective
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pertaining to, or marking the completion of, a period of 100 years.
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pertaining to a 100th anniversary.
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lasting 100 years.
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100 years old.
noun
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centennials
plural
adjective
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relating to, lasting for, or completing a period of 100 years
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occurring every 100 years
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
Vocabulary lists containing centennial
Perfect Ten: Dec, Cent, Mille
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"Sisters" by Raina Telgemeier
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for January 15–January 21, 2022
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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.
See Examples For:
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
By the centennial in 1876, public celebrations of the Revolution seldom mentioned external assistance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 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
The collection of centennial quarters Toby’s mom had given him before she split.
From "We'll Fly Away" by Bryan Bliss
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
Their centennials or bicentennials are being commemorated this year.
From New York Times ● Feb. 3, 2011
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
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.
