cent
cent Lexical Profile
cent Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A monetary unit of the United States, Canada, Australia, the Eurozone, and various other countries, equal to one hundredth of a dollar, euro, or other decimal currency unit.
"The total came to four dollars and ninety-nine cents after tax."
A coin worth one hundredth of the main unit of currency, such as an American or Canadian penny.
"She found a shiny copper cent lying on the sidewalk."
A logarithmic unit of measure for musical intervals, equal to one hundredth of an equal-tempered semitone.
"The piano tuner noticed that the middle A string was roughly ten cents flat."
Word Nuance & Usage
Do not confuse 'cent' (a unit of currency) with its homophones 'scent' (a smell or odor) and 'sent' (the past tense of the verb 'send').
• Rhymes for cent
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed from French 'cent' and ultimately derived from Latin 'centum', meaning 'one hundred'. In its monetary sense, it was introduced in the late 18th century by the United States Continental Congress as a shortening of 'centesimus' (hundredth part).