cent
noun/sɛnt/
Etymology From Middle English cent, from Old French cent, from Latin centum, from Proto-Indo-European *ḱm̥tóm.
10 senses
- 1A subunit of currency equal to one-hundredth of the main…
- 2A small sum of money.
- 3A subunit of currency equal to one-hundredth of the euro.
- 4A coin having face value of one cent (in either of the…
- 5A hundredth of a semitone or half step.
- 6A unit of reactivity equal to one hundredth of a dollar.
- 7Abbreviation of century.
- 8Abbreviation of Latincentum (“one hundred”).
- 9Abbreviation of centigrade.
- 10Abbreviation of center.
1
Business, Finance, Money A subunit of currency equal to one-hundredth of the main unit of currency in many countries. Symbol: ¢.
- It's true. 1.7 cents to make 1 cent. That really makes the phrase “you have to spend money to make money” ring painfully true.2015 November 22, “Pennies”, in Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, season 3, episode 35, John Oliver (actor), via HBO:
2
Informal A small sum of money.
- He blew every last cent.
- Every cent aside from his own expenses for the barest kind of living went to his down-and-out buddies.1990, Lou Sullivan, From Female to Male: The Life of Jack Bee Garland, →ISBN, page 10:
5
Entertainment, Lifestyle, Music A hundredth of a semitone or half step.
6
A unit of reactivity equal to one hundredth of a dollar.
Nuclear physics
7
Abbreviation Abbreviation of century.
8
Abbreviation, Obsolete Abbreviation of Latincentum (“one hundred”).
Except in per cent and cent percent
- And broght with hem many stout cent / Of green lordynges.c. 1450, Octouian Imperator (Octavian), lines 1463-4
- The demon makes his full descent / In one abundant shower of cent per cent.1733, Alexander Pope, Moral Essays, Epistle III to Allen, Lord Bathurst, 372
9
Abbreviation Abbreviation of centigrade.
10
Abbreviation Abbreviation of center.
- Derived terms
- bitcent, centage, cent percent, dollar-and-cent, Fugio cent, half cent, red cent, ten-cent, ten-cent store, ten-cent tour, ten-cent word, twenty-five cent word