Century ˈsentʃəri 20th Ago Lived Years Noun Valparaiso

• a century ago, valparaiso was the country's main port.
• he was born more than a century after the death of confucius.
• they have lived there for centuries.
• their techniques have evolved over the centuries.

century

1. a period of 100 years
• A century ago, Valparaiso was the country's main port.
• He was born more than a century after the death of Confucius.
• They have lived there for centuries.
• Their techniques have evolved over the centuries.
• Those stories have been told again and again through the centuries.

Extra Examples

• There have been orchards in this region for centuries.
• a centuries-old custom
• a collection of paintings spanning four centuries
• a marble floor worn smooth over the centuries
• a tradition passed down through the centuries
• A century ago, weavers and bricklayers in this working class district won some of the earliest strikes for the ten-hour day.
2. any of the periods of 100 years before or after the birth of Christ
• the twentieth century (= AD 1901–2000 or 1900–1999)
• during the second half of the fifteenth century
• eighteenth-century writers
• the past/previous century
• the beginning/middle/end of the century
• in the early years of the 17th century
• in the first quarter of the century
• the last decade of the 20th century
• throughout the latter part of the 12th century
• He lived in the 16th century.
• in the early/late 20th century
• in the mid-nineteenth century
• The structure dates back to the 9th century.
• By the close of this century another two billion people will have been born.

Extra Examples

• America's influence on culture grew throughout the 20th century.
• As the 21st century dawned, the internet promised to reshape society.
• As we enter the 21st century, the challenges facing our world seem overwhelming.
• It was built in the 20th century.
• Later centuries saw the development of a complex agricultural system.
• The 19th century witnessed the publication of many books on the history of art.
• The city's population doubled during the 19th century.
• a 17th-century building
• a celebration to welcome the new century
3. a score of 100 runs by one player
4. the time when a new century/year starts
• It was built at the turn of the century.
• The team are unbeaten since the turn of the year.

Word Origin

• late Middle English originally referring to a company in the ancient Roman army, of a hundred men: from Latin centuria, from centum ‘hundred’. Sense (1) dates from the early 17th cent.