century

noun

cen·​tu·​ry ˈsen(t)-sh(ə-)rē 

plural centuries

1

: a period of 100 years

a company that has been in business for more than a century

specifically : one of the 100-year divisions of the Christian era or of the preceding period of human history

the third century A.D./B.C

the 18th century

2

: a group, sequence, or series of 100 like things

3

a

: a subdivision of the Roman legion

b

: a voting unit of ancient Rome constituted according to property qualifications

4

: a race over a hundred units (such as yards, miles, or meters)

Examples of century in a Sentence

It took more than a century to complete the cathedral.

The pottery dates back to the sixth century B.C.E.

When the prince got married, it was called the wedding of the century.

Recent Examples on the Web

In 2022, northern Italy’s most severe drought in two centuries allowed salty seawater to push upstream into the Po River, creating a favorable environment for female blue crabs to reproduce and for their eggs to develop, Costa said. — Kasha Patel, CNN Money, 18 July 2026

Anderson looked down at her feet and saw a piece of seventeenth-century Delft-style pottery. — Sam Knight, New Yorker, 17 July 2026

But although few, then, could possibly have foreseen the cataclysm of the twentieth-century wars, the hatred was already there in the anti-semitism of old France, in the divisions over Dreyfus. — Literary Hub, 17 July 2026

For nearly a century the brand has expanded across India and established a presence in 60 countries under a logo that has remained largely unchanged. — Encyclopedia Britannica, 17 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

Latin centuria, irregular from centum hundred

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing century

• century plant
• the turn of the century

Rhymes for century

• penitentiary

Kids Definition

century

noun

cen·​tu·​ry ˈsench-(ə-)rē 

plural centuries

1

: a group of 100 things

2

: a period of 100 years