cent

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

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH cent

cents , scents, sense

Other definitions for cent (2 of 3)

cent-

variant of centi- before a vowel: centare.

Other definitions for cent (3 of 3)

cent.

abbreviation

centigrade.

central.

centum.

century.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use cent in a sentence

As a matter of dollars and cents, America in the short term may be able to afford disability and food stamps.
Bush, Christie, Romney: Who’ll Be the GOP Class Warrior?|Lloyd Green|December 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It was then shipped to Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic, and sold for 50 cents on the dollar.
The Flying Sorcery of Dr. Strange: Benedict Cumberbatch Is Marvel's Most Bizarre Magician|Rich Goldstein|December 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Maybe the Central Park Five deserved 10 times as much money as they got, or 10 cents on the dollar.
The Myth of the Central Park Five|Edward Conlon|October 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Satyarthi explains that these 60 million kids work for 200 days in a year, earning about 25 cents a day.
Kailash Satyarthi, Malala's Nobel Peace Prize Co-Winner, Is Fighting India's Child Slavery Epidemic|Dilip D’Souza|October 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST

It costs a $1.80 for the initial connection, and then 31 cents every minute thereafter.
‘Progressive Jail’ Is a 21st-Century Hell, Inmates Complain|Sarah Shourd|September 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
At that time, the postage on letters from that region was very high, sometimes as much as fifty or sixty cents, or even a dollar.
The Boarded-Up House|Augusta Huiell Seaman
But, he finally secured the address of a company who would manufacture a book to exceed 300 pages for fifty cents per book.
The Homesteader|Oscar Micheaux
Orlean had secured a position in a ladies' tailoring establishment at five dollars and fifty cents a week, and there he went.
The Homesteader|Oscar Micheaux
Fifteen cents is the price, and many are palmed off on the unwise for the real imported article.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
These are certainly the vilest cigars made anywhere in the world, and are sold from one to five cents each.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.

British Dictionary definitions for cent

cent

/ (sɛnt) /

noun

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

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)

Word Origin for cent

C16: from Latin centēsimus hundredth, from centum hundred

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with cent

cent

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

cent

Origin of cent

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH cent

Other definitions for cent (2 of 3)

Other definitions for cent (3 of 3)

Words related to cent

How to use cent in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for cent

Word Origin for cent

Other Idioms and Phrases with cent