century
gb/sˈɛnt͡ʃɚi/ us/sˈɛnt͡ʃɚi/
A2
English
~ 500
évszázad, század, százfutásos eredmény, century
NOUN
A2
1
Usage pattern:
[a/the] century
The 20th century saw rapid technological change.
A 20. században gyors technológiai változások mentek végbe.
Many traditions date back several centuries.
Sok hagyomány több évszázadra nyúlik vissza.
The building was constructed in the 18th century.
We are living in the 21st century.
The turn of the century brought new challenges.
Learner examples
The 20th century started in 1901.
A 20. század 1901-ben kezdődött.
People lived very differently a century ago.
Az emberek egy évszázaddal ezelőtt egészen másképp éltek.
We are now in the 21st century.
A century has 100 years.
The city is more than one century old.
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse 'century' with 'decade', which is only 10 years.
Meaning
a 100-year time span
Collocations
turn of the century
|21st century
|centuries ago
|early 20th century
|mid-century
Synonyms
hundred years (Exact equivalent but less formal and less commonly used in historical contexts.)
Antonyms
decade (Refers to a period of ten years, the opposite in scale.)
Themes
history
|time
|core_vocabulary
Definition
A time period of 100 years.
A period of one hundred consecutive years.
NOUN
B2
2
century
C2
He scored his third century of the season.
A szezonban már a harmadik százfutásos eredményét érte el.
The crowd cheered as she reached her century.
A közönség ujjongott, amikor elérte a száz futást.
Scoring a century is a major achievement for any batsman.
Learner examples
He scored a century in the match.
Százfutásos eredményt ért el a mérkőzésen.
She made her first century last year.
Tavaly érte el az első százfutásos eredményét.
A player gets a century when they score 100 runs.
Common mistake:
Non-cricket fans may think 'century' here means 100 years instead of 100 runs.
Meaning
100 runs scored in cricket
Collocations
score a century
|hit a century
|make a century
Synonyms
hundred (Informal shorthand for scoring 100 runs in cricket.)
Antonyms
duck (In cricket, scoring zero runs in an innings.)
Themes
sports
|core_vocabulary
Definition
In cricket, when one player scores 100 runs in one turn at batting.
In cricket, a score of one hundred runs made by a single batsman in one innings.
Grammar
Dictionary form
century
IPA
GB/sˈɛnt͡ʃɚi/
US/sˈɛnt͡ʃɚi/
Syllables & stress
cen - tury (2 syllables)
Stress on 1st syllable (cen)
Word forms
Noun
- Base: century
- Plural: centuries
Word family
Forms
centuries
noun
Related words
centennial
adjective
centenary
noun
Advanced or less common
centenarian
noun
bicentennial
adjective
Expressions
centuries ago
1/sˈɛnt͡ʃɚiz əɡˈoʊ/
fixed phrase
a very long time ago (hundreds of years)
A time many hundreds of years before now.
Examples
- This castle was built centuries ago.
- Centuries ago, people traveled by horse and carriage.
quarter-century
1/kwˈɔɹtɚ sˈɛnt͡ʃɚi/
fixed phrase
a time span of 25 years
A period of twenty-five years.
Examples
- He worked there for over a quarter-century.
- The company is celebrating a quarter-century in business.
turn of the century
1/tˈɚn əv ðə sˈɛnt͡ʃɚi/
fixed phrase
time when one century ends and another begins
The time when one hundred-year period ends and the next begins.
Examples
- Many new inventions appeared around the turn of the century.
- She was born at the turn of the 19th century.