Century Definition: 100-Year Period Explained

Meaning 1：100-year period (century)

century 🔊

/ˈsɛntʃəri/

a period of one hundred years, often used to talk about history, a person's age, or the time between important events.

100-year period 🔊

➕

/ˈhʌndrəd jɪr ˈpɪriəd/

A unit of time equal to 100 years, often used in historical or biographical contexts.

📁 Category：Time & Dates 🔖 Level：Intermediate

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

Latin 'centum' (hundred) + '-uria' (group).

💡 Mnemonic

Think of 'cent' meaning 100 (as in centipede, percent). A century is 100 years.

📖 Example

My great-grandmother lived for almost a whole century; she passed away at 99. 🔊 My great-grandmother lived for almost a whole century; she passed away at 99.

🔗 Collocations

turn of the century – The time around the beginning of a new century.

20th century – The period from 1901 to 2000.

century-old – Existing for or dating back a hundred years.

🔄 Synonyms

centenary (n.) – A hundredth anniversary or a period of 100 years.

centennial (n.) – A hundredth anniversary.

hundred years (phrase) – A period of 100 years.

🚫 Antonyms

year (n.) – A period of 12 months.

decade (n.) – A period of 10 years.

🌱 Derivatives

centurial (adj.) – Of or relating to a century.

centurion (n.) – An officer in the ancient Roman army commanding a century of soldiers.

📖 Cultural Story

In ancient Rome, a 'centuria' was a group of 100 soldiers. Later in Latin, it meant a period of 100 years, adopted into English as 'century'.