centurion
Americannoun
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(in the ancient Roman army) the commander of a century.
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Military. Centurion, any one of various British battle tanks in service from 1945 to 1967.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of centurion
First recorded in 1225–75; Middle English, from Latin centuriōn- (stem of centuriō ), equivalent to centur(ia) century + -iōn- -ion
Explanation
A centurion is a kind of soldier in the Roman army responsible for the command of a century, or one hundred, men. Centurion lives on in common language as the typical Roman soldier––countless generations of fifth graders have been asked to sketch their costumes. Their resilience in popular imagination may be ascribed to the role the centurion soldiers played in the Christian gospel story of the life of Jesus Christ.
Vocabulary lists containing centurion
Ancient Rome - Introductory
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The Son of Neptune
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Ancient Rome - Middle School and High School
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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:
Opening batsman Pathum Nissanka, a centurion against Australia, fell for nine exposing Sri Lank's shaky middle order and they folded in 16.4 overs.
From Barron's ● Feb. 22, 2026
Smith, namesake Fin, and cap centurion George Ford are the three fly-halves in the wider squad, and assistant coach Kevin Sinfield admits keeping all three happy is a challenge.
From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2025
Having resumed on 51-2, they lost first-innings centurion Tony de Zorzi lbw to left-arm quick Shaheen Afridi to the third ball of the day to push the finely-poised chase in Pakistan's favour.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2025
"It doesn't sit that well with me," England centurion Danny Care told the Rugby Union Weekly podcast.
From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2025
Jason stood about fifty yards away, sword-fighting with a stocky centurion whose lips were stained cherry red, like blood.
From "The Mark of Athena" by Rick Riordan
Think of the centurions who cast lots for Christ’s robes on the day of the Crucifixion in 33 A.D.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026
“And so the law is the guardrails. So there has to be lawyers who are prepared to protect those guardrails and to stand as centurions, as I refer to us.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 1, 2026
He’s been prattling on about Marcus Aurelius’ “Meditations” and sharing Facebook nonsense about centurions ever since.
From Salon ● Dec. 20, 2025
With England captain Harry Kane approaching his 100th England appearance, it's time to test your knowledge of the other male Three Lions centurions.
From BBC ● Sep. 10, 2024
The Fifth Cohort had the nicest centurions in camp.
From "The Son of Neptune" by Rick Riordan
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.
