26984 words

centuries

6 definitions • 11 examples
1
a period of 100 years:

Examples:

The city centre has scarcely changed in over a century.
This sculpture must be centuries old.
Her medical career spanned half a century.
2
a period of 100 years counted from what is believed to be the year of the birth of Jesus Christ:

Examples:

Rome was founded in the eighth century BC (= before Christ).
He's an expert on 15th-century Italian art.
3
a score of 100 runs (= points) in cricket:

Examples:

Both captains scored centuries.
His third Test century came from only 135 balls.
4
the time when one century ends and another begins:

Examples:

The museum reopened at the turn of the century.
5
a period of 100 years:

Examples:

Her medical career spanned half a century.
6
A century is also a particular period of 100 years:

Examples:

the fourth century B.C.
His music was influential in the 19th and 20th centuries.

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