hundred
n.n. the number 100. It is the amount you get when you have ten groups of ten.
n. the cardinal number equivalent to the product of ten and ten. It functions as a determiner when preceding a noun or as a noun when referring to the number itself.
There are one hundred pennies in a dollar.
The stadium was nearly empty, with only a few hundred fans scattered across the lower seats.
The forest spans several hundred acres of protected land, providing a vital habitat for local wildlife that would otherwise struggle to survive in the surrounding urban sprawl.
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.
When used as a specific number, it remains singular ('five hundred people'); it becomes plural only to indicate a large, indefinite amount ('hundreds of people').
five hundreds dollarsfive hundred dollarsWhen used as a specific multiplier before a noun, the word remains singular.