cent

1 of 3

noun

ˈsent How to pronounce cent (audio)
1
: a monetary unit equal to 1/100 of a basic unit of value (such as dollar, euro, rand) see birr, dollar, euro, leone, lilangeni, nakfa, rand, rupee, shilling at Money Table
2
: a coin, token, or note representing one cent
3
: the fen of the People's Republic of China

cent

2 of 3

abbreviation (1)

1
centigrade
2
central
3
centum
4
century

Cent

3 of 3

abbreviation (2)

Central

Examples of cent in a Sentence

Noun A dime is worth 10 cents.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
Its yield token xUSD fell from $1 to about 26 cents within a day, and because it had been accepted as collateral elsewhere, roughly $285 million of interconnected debt across lending markets went bad with it. — Boaz Sobrado, Forbes.com, 2 Aug. 2026 As the Heritage Foundation’s Antoni points out, food retailers garner just about the lowest margins of any industry, about 2 cents for every dollar in sales. — Shawn Tully, Fortune, 2 Aug. 2026 Only 10 per cent went on to play in any of the three continental UEFA competitions. — Jordan Campbell, New York Times, 2 Aug. 2026 Seventy-eight per cent goes to firefighting operations while twenty-two per cent goes to prevention. — M. R. O’Connor, New Yorker, 1 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for cent

Word History

Etymology

Noun

French, hundred, from Latin centum — more at hundred

First Known Use

Noun

1782, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of cent was in 1782

Phrases Containing cent

Rhymes for cent

See All Rhymes for cent

Browse Nearby Words

census tract
cent
Cent
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Cite this Entry

“Cent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cent. Accessed 5 Aug. 2026.

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Kids Definition

cent

noun
ˈsent
1
: a unit of value equal to ¹⁄₁₀₀ part of a basic unit of money (as of a dollar or euro)
2
: a coin or bill representing one cent
Etymology

Noun

from early French cent "hundred," from Latin centum "hundred"

More from Merriam-Webster on cent

Nglish: Translation of cent for Spanish Speakers

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