hundredweight

American  

[huhn-drid-weyt] / ˈhʌn drɪdˌweɪt /

noun

plural

hundredweights,

plural

hundredweight

1. Also called cental, quintal.  a unit of avoirdupois weight commonly equivalent to 100 pounds (45.359 kilograms) in the U.S. cwt

2. cental.

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hundredweight British  

/ ˈhʌndrədˌweɪt /

noun

1. Also called: long hundredweight.  a unit of weight equal to 112 pounds or 50.802 35 kilograms

2. Also called: short hundredweight.  a unit of weight equal to 100 pounds or 45.359 24 kilograms

3. Also called: metric hundredweight.  a metric unit of weight equal to 50 kilograms

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Etymology

Origin of hundredweight

First recorded in 1570–80; hundred + weight

Example Sentences

Redknapp said he had been sent "half a hundredweight" of the dessert since returning home and would give it to the homeless in Bournemouth.

From BBC • Dec. 18, 2018

Dan Stevens, dimly discernible under a hundredweight of pelt, has more luck.

From The New Yorker • Mar. 17, 2017

Many in Bolivia turned to the crop as prices rose from $11 per hundredweight in the early 2000s to as high as $259 at the end of 2014.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 3, 2017

Producers harvested 190,000 acres with a yield of 7,200 hundredweight and a price of $13.68 per hundredweight.

From Washington Times • Dec. 29, 2014

The rigid frame held a skin of oiled silk in place to contain the hydrogen, and although this was tough enough to withstand minor scratches, a hundredweight of blazing rock was too much for it.

From "The Golden Compass" by Philip Pullman