cent

noun

\ ˈsent

Definition of cent

(Entry 1 of 3)

1 : a monetary unit equal to ¹/₁₀₀ of a basic unit of value (such as dollar, euro, rand) — see birr, dollar, euro, leone, lilangeni, nakfa, rand, rupee, shilling at Money Table

2 : a coin, token, or note representing one cent

3 : the fen of the People's Republic of China

cent

abbreviation (1)

Definition of cent (Entry 2 of 3)

1 centigrade

2 central

3 centum

4 century

Cent

abbreviation (2)

Definition of Cent (Entry 3 of 3)

Central

Examples of cent in a Sentence

Noun A dime is worth 10 cents.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun In both elections, winning candidates needed at least 75 per cent of the vote. — Dan Schlossberg, Forbes, 8 Sep. 2021 The national gas price average on Monday was $3.15 a gallon, according to American Automobile Association data, only about 1 cent higher than the same time last week. — Catherine Thorbecke, ABC News, 30 Aug. 2021 That’s only about one per cent of what the world needs, over all. — Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2021 According to Sky News, Shriever raised nearly $70,000 thanks to her campaign, and every cent paid off. — PEOPLE.com, 30 July 2021 The four largest seed manufacturers increased their market share from twenty-one per cent in 1994 to sixty-six per cent in 2018. — Dan Kaufman, The New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2021 The nightly sellouts of the first Disney season couldn’t be sustained, but the Philharmonic still sells a very respectable ninety-two per cent of its tickets. — Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 9 Aug. 2021 In 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic spread across the globe, the majority of countries announced the temporary closure of schools, impacting more than 91 per cent of students worldwide. — Cindy Gordon, Forbes, 27 June 2021 Unemployment has hit thirty-three per cent—the highest rate in South African history, and one of the highest in the world. — Robin Wrigh, The New Yorker, 28 July 2021

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cent.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.