century

IPA/ˈsentʃəri/
KK[sˈɛntʃɚi]IPA/ˈsentʃəri/

century — noun

  • centurysingular
  • centuriesplural

1. A length of time that lasts exactly one hundred years, without reference to a sp

1.nounA2
Definition

A length of time that lasts exactly one hundred years, without reference to a specific calendar system.

Example

The old oak tree in Yara's garden has stood for more than a century.

more than a century — duration phrase

Historians believe this ancient temple was built nearly a century ago.

Common collocations
  • last for a century
  • over a century
  • more than a century
  • nearly a century
  • within a century
Synonyms
  • hundred years

    a less formal equivalent; works in most of the same contexts

2. One of the numbered 100-year blocks used to divide history in the Gregorian cale

2.nounB1
Definition

One of the numbered 100-year blocks used to divide history in the Gregorian calendar, such as the 18th century (1701 to 1800) or the 21st century (2001 to 2100).

Example

The 19th century saw the rise of trains and steamships across Europe and America.

ordinal number + century — common historical reference

Life in the 18th century was very different from what we know today.

Common collocations
  • the 20th century
  • the 21st century
  • the last century
  • the present century
  • the early century
  • the late century
  • century-old tradition
Synonyms
  • age

    broader term; can refer to any long period defined by a characteristic, e.g. the age of steam

  • era

    a long period marked by distinctive events, e.g. the Victorian era

Usage Note

Usually preceded by an ordinal number (first, second, 20th, 21st). The 21st century began on January 1, 2001, not 2000, because there was no year zero in the Gregorian calendar.

Common Mistakes

The 21st century started in the year 2000.
The 21st century started on January 1, 2001.
Since there was no year zero, the first century ran from year 1 to year 100, so the 21st century began in 2001.

3. A score of 100 or more runs made by one player in a single innings of cricket, c

3.nounB2
Definition

A score of 100 or more runs made by one player in a single innings of cricket, considered a major personal achievement.

Example

Ravi scored his first century in the final cricket match of the season.

score a century — verb-noun collocation

The crowd cheered loudly when the captain reached her century.

Common collocations
  • score a century
  • reach a century
  • hit a century
  • make a century
  • celebrate a century
Synonyms
  • hundred

    informal cricket term; e.g. 'He scored a hundred in the second innings.'

  • ton

    informal British cricket slang; e.g. 'She brought up her ton with a boundary.'

Usage Note

This sense is specific to cricket, which is most popular in the UK, Australia, India, Pakistan, and other Commonwealth countries. 'Century' here refers to an individual player's score, not the team total.

4. The period around the point when one calendar century ends and the next begins,

4.nounB1
Definition

The period around the point when one calendar century ends and the next begins, often accompanied by social or cultural change.

Example

Many people around the world celebrated the turn of the century in 1999.

the turn of the century — fixed phrase

The museum opened an Asian art wing just before the turn of the century.

Common collocations
  • the turn of the century
  • at the turn of the century
  • since the turn of the century
  • before the turn of the century
Synonyms
  • century's end

    less common; focuses on the ending rather than the transition

  • fin de siècle

    borrowed French term, used mainly for the late 19th century cultural atmosphere

Usage Note

Most common in the fixed phrase 'the turn of the century.' When no century is specified, historical writing usually refers to the transition from the 19th to the 20th century (around 1900).

Idioms

the turn of the century/year

idiom

The period when one century or year ends and the next begins.

The museum was built at the turn of the century.

Have you seen any changes since the turn of the year?

Word family

  • centuries
    nounA2
  • century-old
    adjectiveB2
  • centennial
    nounC1
  • centenarian
    nounC1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

'Century' and 'hundred years' are largely interchangeable when referring to any 100-year span. 'Century' is more concise and slightly more formal: 'a century ago' and 'a hundred years ago' mean the same thing, but 'a century hence' sounds literary while 'a hundred years from now' is neutral. 'Decade' covers a 10-year period and suits shorter-term trends such as 'the past decade saw rapid growth in tech jobs.' 'Millennium' describes a 1,000-year span and carries heavier, more dramatic weight: 'the third millennium began in 2001.' Use 'century' for everyday 100-year blocks, 'decade' for recent history, and 'millennium' for long-scale events.

century ↗hundred yearsdecade ↗millennium ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • century-old tradition
  • half-century
  • quarter-century

Phrases

  • for more than a century
  • in the early years of the century
  • the turn of the century
  • once in a century

Prepositions

  • for a century
  • over a century
  • within a century
  • during the century
  • at the turn of the century

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

The word 'century' comes from Latin 'centuria,' meaning a group of one hundred things — originally a company of soldiers in ancient Rome. 'Centuria' itself comes from 'centum,' the Latin word for 'hundred.' It entered English through French in the 1500s, first carrying the Roman military meaning before gradually shifting to its modern sense of a 100-year period.