centigrade

American  

[sen-ti-greyd] / ˈsɛn tɪˌgreɪd /

adjective

1. divided into 100 degrees, as a scale.

2. (initial capital letter) Celsius. cent. C

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centigrade British  

/ ˈsɛntɪˌɡreɪd /

adjective

1. a former name for Celsius

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noun

1. a unit of angle equal to one hundredth of a grade

centigrade Scientific  

/ sĕn′tĭ-grād′ /

1. See Celsius

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centigrade Cultural  

1. The Celsius temperature scale.

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Usage

Although still used in meteorology, centigrade , when indicating the Celsius scale of temperature, is now usually avoided because of its possible confusion with the hundredth part of a grade

Because of confusion over the prefix centi–, which originally meant 100 but developed the meaning 1/100, scientists agreed to stop using the term centigrade in 1948. The term Celsius is now standard.

Etymology

Origin of centigrade

From French, dating back to 1805–15; centi-, -grade

Example Sentences

In their research, the authors dissolved high melting point nickel and tin in a gallium based liquid metal with a melting point of only 30 degrees centigrade.

From Science Daily • Nov. 9, 2023

“They have made the assumption that the reality is the world will be at above 2 degrees centigrade within a matter of decades,” Lieberthal said.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 18, 2023

“But it’s not always like this. We get near 30 degrees centigrade in the summer.”

From Washington Post • Jul. 29, 2022

If the Earth is to avoid damaging environmental effects, including more extreme weather, it needs to limit average global warming to below 1.5 degrees centigrade.

From BBC • Feb. 13, 2022

In the centigrade scale, zero degrees is the freezing point of water.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife