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• century
  century

  noun

  a period of 100 years.
• -century
  -century

  a combining form of century, affixed to the number that specifies the 100-year span cited, and used only as an adjective.

century

¹ American  

[sen-chuh-ree] / ˈsɛn tʃə ri /

noun

• centuries
  plural

1. a period of 100 years.

2. one of the successive periods of 100 years reckoned forward or backward from a recognized chronological epoch, especially from the assumed date of the birth of Jesus.

3. any group or collection of 100.

   a century of limericks.

4. (in the ancient Roman army) a company, consisting of approximately 100 men.

5. one of the voting divisions of the ancient Roman people, each division having one vote.

6. (initial capital letter) a style of type.

7. Slang. a hundred-dollar bill; 100 dollars.

8. Sports. a race of 100 yards or meters, as in track or swimming, or of 100 miles, as in bicycle racing.

9. Cricket. a score of at least 100 runs made by one batsman in a single inning.

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-century ² American  

[sen-chuh-ree] / ˈsɛn tʃə ri /

1. a combining form of century, affixed to the number that specifies the 100-year span cited, and used only as an adjective.

   19th-century American literature;

   a collection of 6th-century metal sculptures that was stolen in the late 20th century.

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century British  

/ ˈsɛntʃərɪ /

noun

1. a period of 100 years

2. one of the successive periods of 100 years dated before or after an epoch or event, esp the birth of Christ

3. 1. a score or grouping of 100

      to score a century in cricket

   2. ( as modifier )

      the basketball team passed the century mark in their last game

4. (in ancient Rome) a unit of foot soldiers, originally 100 strong, later consisting of 60 to 80 men See also maniple

5. (in ancient Rome) a division of the people for purposes of voting

6. (often capital) a style of type

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century Idioms  

1. see turn of the century.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• half-century
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• centuries
  plural

Etymology

Origin of century

First recorded in 1525–35; from Latin centuria “unit made up of 100 parts (especially a company of soldiers),” equivalent to cent(um) “hundred” + -uria, perhaps extracted from decuria “a division of 10 men”; see decury

Explanation

100 years is called a century. The computer, the television, and video games were all invented in the twentieth century. People are now wondering what the twenty-first century holds for us. The noun century comes from the Latin word centuria, which was a group of 100, particularly a group of 100 Roman soldiers (one of 16 such groups in a Roman legion). The word today still can refer to 100 of something. In sports, a century is a score of 100 in a game of cricket. A race of 100 yards or 100 miles is also sometimes called a century. In slang, century can also mean a 100 dollar bill.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

century -century centuries

But in the 14th century the contested presence of the Papal States near the Rhône led to repeated skirmishes between the king of France and the Vatican.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

Since 2020, the river flow has averaged 32% less than in the 20th century.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026

Ahead of his address, the pope will visit an exhibition dedicated to St Augustine, the influential fifth-century Christian theologian who laid the foundations for the 13th century Augustinian order to which Leo belongs.

From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026

He batted at the ideal tempo and though he missed the chance to reach a maiden international century the next two Tests look an ideal opportunity to press his case.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

The most colorful description of Phineas at Barnum's museum comes from Alton Blackington, a Boston radio and TV reporter who broadcasts his account a century after Phineas's death.

From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman

As you write, “The post-Holocaust security of Israel thus stands as the constitutive exception on which 21st -century humanitarianism is based.”

From Salon ● Jul. 1, 2018

Until recently, many churches were that rare 21st -century phenomenon: the organically analog space.

From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2018

From posting on message boards to using Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, fertility doctors have appropriated 21st-century marketing methods to bring a 21 -century technology to the masses.

From Slate ● Sep. 14, 2012

The chamber remained in use for centuries and experienced several disruptive events.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 19, 2026

"The deer here are wild, they have been here for centuries," he said.

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026

He ended decades of political dominance by dynastic parties and envisioned a national welfare state modelled on the Islamic golden age of the seventh to 14th centuries, a flourishing period in the Muslim world.

From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026

When the second-largest U.S. bank discloses its quarterly financial results, analysts have to decipher the lexicon of CEO Brian Moynihan, riddled with obscure, archaic words fit for novelists or judges of bygone centuries.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026

For centuries, ballads, and epics were all sung, as were Biblical chants and Vedic hymns.

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin