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cent

noun
SENT/sɛnt/

Pluralcents, cent

9 meanings of cent

Practice

  1. 1
    nouncountable
    A unit of money worth one hundredth of a dollar, euro, or certain other currencies.

    Like one piece of a chocolate bar broken into 100 equal pieces: the whole bar is the dollar.

    The gum costs ninety-nine cents at the corner store.

    The new tax added one cent to the price of each can.

    UsageSay ten cents, but a ten-cent coin.

    Note
  2. 2
    one hundrednounobsoleteabbreviation
    Short for centum: one hundred, now found mainly in "per cent."
    And broght with hem many stout cent / Of green lordynges.
    c. 1450, Octouian Imperator (Octavian), lines 1463-4Here, cent means a hundred, so many hundreds of young lords.
    The demon makes his full descent / In one abundant shower of cent per cent.
    1733, Alexander Pope, Moral EssaysHere, cent means hundred, so cent per cent means a hundred percent.
    Note
  3. 3
    coinnouncountable
    A small coin that is worth one cent.

    She dropped a cent into the tip jar by the register.

    He found two shiny cents under the couch cushions.

    UsageIn the US, people call this coin a penny.

    Similarpenny

    Note
  4. 4
    very little moneynouncolloquialcountable
    A very small amount of money, often used to mean no money at all.

    He refused to pay a cent for the broken phone.

    She worked all summer and saved every cent for the trip.

    UsageSay it didn't cost a cent, or saved every cent.

    Similarpenny, dime

    Note

Practice

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Origin

It comes from Latin "centum," meaning hundred.

Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 2 facts