Word.ws English Dictionary

centner

/ˈsɛntnəɹ/

centner noun: a unit of weight with different actual definitions in parts of Germany and Scandinavia, typically 100 local pounds.

Noun

centner (plural centners)

  1. A unit of weight with different actual definitions in parts of Germany and Scandinavia, typically 100 local pounds.
    • In the same year the mining industry of the country produced about 10 lbs. of gold, 2487 lbs. of silver, 43,297 centner copper, 600 centner copper-nickel, 6787 centner lead, 3286 centner brass, 1485 centner nickel-ore, 490,300 centner zinc-ore, 1200 lbs. cobalt-ore, besides quantities of manganese...1875, John Murray, Handbook for travellers in Sweden, page 35
  2. A nonstandard metric unit of weight equal to 100 kilograms, commonly used as an agricultural measure in Eastern Bloc countries (similar to a bushel).

Forms of centner

pluralcentners

Origin of centner

Probably from Low German, cp. German Zentner, comparable to the hundredweight. Doublet of centenary, kantar, and quintal.

Questions about centner

What does centner mean?
Centner means a unit of weight with different actual definitions in parts of Germany and Scandinavia, typically 100 local pounds.
What part of speech is centner?
Centner is a noun.
How do you pronounce centner?
Centner is pronounced /ˈsɛntnəɹ/.
What is the plural of centner?
The plural of centner is centners.

Words near centner in the dictionary

  1. centisteres
  2. centistoke
  3. centistokes
  4. centiwatt
  5. centiwatts
  6. centner
  7. centners
  8. cento
  9. Centofanti
  10. Centofantis
  11. centoism

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: centner (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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