Definition of "century" in English

noun

1. A period of one hundred consecutive years; often specifically a numbered period with conventional start and end dates, e.g., the twentieth century, which stretches from (strictly) 1901 through 2000, or (informally) 1900 through 1999. The first century AD was from 1 to 100.

   • Holonyms: kiloannum, kiloyear, millennium < terasecond < mega-annum, megayear < petasecond < giga-annum, gigayear < exasecond < zettasecond < yottasecond < ronnasecond < quettasecond
   • Meronyms: quectosecond < rontosecond < yoctosecond < zeptosecond < attosecond < femtosecond < picosecond < nanosecond < microsecond < millisecond < centisecond < decisecond < second < decasecond < minute < hectosecond < kilosecond < microcentury (humorous) < hour < day < week < megasecond < fortnight < month < year < gigasecond

2. A unit in ancient Roman army, originally of one hundred army soldiers as part of a cohort, later of more varied sizes (but typically containing sixty to seventy or eighty) soldiers or other men (guards, police, firemen), commanded by a centurion.

   • Holonyms: maniple, cohort, legion

3. A political division of ancient Rome, meeting in the Centuriate Assembly.

4. A hundred things of the same kind; a hundred.

5. (cricket) A hundred runs scored either by a single player in one innings, or by two players in a partnership.

   • He has scored 44 limited-overs centuries.
   • They put on a century stand to help their team recover from 57–4 to 198–4.

6. (snooker) A score of one hundred points.

   • That was his tenth professional century.

7. (sports) A race a hundred units (as meters, kilometres, miles) in length.

8. (US, informal) A banknote in the denomination of one hundred dollars.