From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcenturycen‧tu‧ry /ˈsentʃəri/ ●●● S2 W1 noun (plural centuries) [countable] 1 TMCone of the 100-year periods measured from before or after the year of Christ’s birththe 11th/18th/21st etc century The church was built in the 13th century.the next/last century by the beginning of the next century the story of life on a small farm at the turn of the century (=the beginning of the century)2 TMCa period of 100 years many centuries ago3 DSC100 runs scored by one cricket player in an inningsCOLLOCATIONS – Meaning 1 : one of the 100-year periods measured from before or after the year of Christ’s birthadjectivesthe 18th/19th/20th/21st etc centuryThe movie is set in the 18th century.the early/mid/late 18th etc centurythe industrial towns of the early 19th centurythe last/next centuryThe boats were built in the last century.the present centuryThe present century has seen the start of international terrorism.phrasesthe beginning of the centuryCoco Chanel was born in France at the beginning of the century.the turn of the century (=the time when one century ends and another begins)The town was expanding at the turn of the century.the end/close of the centuryHe was writing his books towards the end of the 19th century.the first/second half of the centuryIn the second half of the century, people's wages began to rise.18th-/19th- etc century art/music/literature Nothing compares with Florence's beautiful 15th-century architecture.a16th-/19th- etc century house/church etcThey live in a 17th-century farmhouse.verbsdate from the 18th etc century (=it was started, built etc in the 18th etc century)The present church dates from the 13th century.
Examples from the Corpus
century• It is, he says, a place for the civic interaction of the 21st century.• The first effort at campaign finance reform was a product of the progressive era almost a century ago.• Naismith invented basketball over a century ago.• It's been women-only for more than a century.• Such trade was difficult enough in the seventeenth century.• During the period of the Tudor monarchs in the sixteenth century, Parliament acquired enhanced status.• But when I played Paul he made three successive century breaks.• Should we be optimistic or pessimistic about the prospects for democracy in the electronic republic of the century ahead?• It was the worst air disaster this century.the 11th/18th/21st etc century• Who would have thought that, as we enter the 21st century, 7.5 million people would have been served with warrants?• Rather than national liberation, it seems to be liberation from nationalism that must be the goal for the 21st century.• Now, seven years after the wall collapsed, Berlin is creating an urban showcase for the 21st century.• According to the World Bank, fresh water will become the natural resource most likely to cause wars in the 21st century.Origin century (1300-1400) Latin centuria, from centum; → CENT 