cent

¹

[ sent ]

noun

1. one 100th of the dollar, or other basic monetary unit, of various nations, including the United States. : ¢, c
2. penny ( def 1 ):

   Sorry, I’ve only got two dimes, a nickel, and four cents.

3. a monetary unit of certain European Union countries, one 100th of a euro.

cent-

²

1. variant of centi- before a vowel:

   centare.

cent.

³

abbreviation for

1. centigrade.
2. central.
3. centum.
4. century.

cent

/ sɛnt /

noun

1. a monetary unit of American Samoa, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Australia, Austria, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Bermuda, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Brunei, Canada, the Cayman Islands, Cyprus, Dominica, East Timor, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, French Guiana, Germany, Greece, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guam, Guyana, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Kosovo, Liberia, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, the Marshall Islands, Martinique, Mauritius, Mayotte, Micronesia, Monaco, Montenegro, Namibia, Nauru, the Netherlands, the Netherlands Antilles, New Zealand, the Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Réunion, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, the Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Surinam, Swaziland, Taiwan, Tanzania, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Uganda, the United States, the Vatican City, the Virgin Islands, and Zimbabwe. It is worth one hundredth of their respective standard units
2. an interval of pitch between two frequencies f 2 and f 1 equal to 3986.31 log ( f 2 / f 1 ); one twelve-hundredth of the interval between two frequencies having the ratio 1:2 (an octave)

Word History and Origins

Origin of cent¹

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English, from Latin centēsimus “hundredth” (by shortening), equivalent to cent(um) “100” ( hundred ) + -ēsimus ordinal suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of cent¹

C16: from Latin centēsimus hundredth, from centum hundred

Idioms and Phrases

see for two cents ; not worth a dime (red cent) ; put in one's two cents .

Example Sentences

For example, a recent study estimates that fake reviews compel consumers to waste 12 cents for every dollar they spend online.

From Salon

Perhaps most shockingly, over 60 per cent of this waste is avoidable food waste or food that could have been eaten but was thrown away for various reasons, including spoilage.

From Salon

It contained nine items that ranged from a Junior Hamburger to a garden side salad to a small Frosty, all priced at 99 cents.

From Salon

TV one of the very best streaming values since it doesn’t cost you a single cent — just the time you’ll spend watching ads.

From New York Times

The farmer gets about 60 cents a pound.

From New York Times