century

noun [C]

/ˈsen.tʃər.i/

Definition

A2 a period of 100 years: The city centre has scarcely changed in over a century. This sculpture must be centuries old. Her medical career spanned half a century. → Compare millenniumDecades, centuries and the millennium › a period of 100 years counted from what is believed to be the year of the birth of Jesus Christ: Rome was founded in the eighth century BC (= before Christ). He's an expert on 15th-century Italian art.Decades, centuries and the millennium › a score of 100 runs in cricketCricketGeneral terms used in ball sports the turn of the century › the time when one century ends and another begins: The museum reopened at the turn of the century.Decades, centuries and the millennium

(Definition of century noun from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)