English Reference
numeral · noun

hundred

num. · n.
US /ˈhəndɝd/ UK /hˈʌndɹəd/ hun·dred UK spelling hundreds

  1. 01 A1 Beginner Math

    num.the number 100, which is ten times ten.

    num.the cardinal number 100, occurring after ninety-nine and before one hundred and one.

    Simple

    There are one hundred centimeters in a meter.

    In context

    The company celebrated its first hundred years of operation by opening a new museum dedicated to its industrial heritage.

    Pitfall
    There were hundreds people at the concert. There were hundreds of people at the concert.

    When using 'hundreds' as a noun to mean a large number, you must follow it with 'of' before the noun.

    one hundred
  2. 02 B2 Upper Intermediate Informal

    n.a piece of paper money worth one hundred units, like dollars or euros.

    n.a banknote with a denomination of one hundred units of a specific currency.

    Simple

    He paid for the expensive dinner with a hundred.

    In context

    The cashier held the hundred up to the light to verify the watermark before completing the transaction.

  3. 03 B2 Upper Intermediate British English Sport

    n.a score of 100 runs or more by a single player in a game of cricket.

    n.a score of at least one hundred runs achieved by a single batsman in an innings.

    Simple

    The crowd cheered when the captain finally reached his hundred.

    In context

    After a slow start, the opening batsman accelerated his scoring rate to reach a magnificent hundred before the tea break.

  4. 04 C2 Proficiency ArchaicBritish English Law

    n.a small area of land used for local government in old England.

    n.a historical administrative subdivision of an English county, traditionally large enough to support one hundred households.

    Simple

    In the Middle Ages, this village was the center of the local hundred.

    In context

    The ancient records of the hundred provide a detailed account of land ownership and tax collection in the fourteenth century.

Usage hundreds of thousands · hundreds of millions · hundreds of people


From Middle English hundred, from Old English hundred, from Proto-Germanic hundaradą, from hundą (from Proto-Indo-European ḱm̥tóm) + radą (“count”), a neuter variant of *radō (“row, line, series”). Compare West Frisian hûndert, Dutch honderd, Low German hunnert, hunnerd, German Hundert, Danish hundred.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This entry
Origin ine-pro *ḱm̥tóm
Level A1 · Beginner
Frequency Common
Updated