centigrade

[ sen-ti-greyd ]

adjective
  1. divided into 100 degrees, as a scale.

  2. (initial capital letter) Celsius (def. 2). Abbreviation: cent. Symbol: C

Origin of centigrade

1
From French, dating back to 1805–15; see origin at centi-, -grade

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for centigrade

centigrade

/ (ˈsɛntɪˌɡreɪd) /


adjective
  1. a former name for Celsius

noun
  1. a unit of angle equal to one hundredth of a grade

usage For centigrade

Although still used in meteorology, centigrade, when indicating the Celsius scale of temperature, is now usually avoided because of its possible confusion with the hundredth part of a grade

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for centigrade

centigrade

[ sĕntĭ-grād′ ]


usage For centigrade

Because of confusion over the prefix centi-, which originally meant 100 but developed the meaning 1100, scientists agreed to stop using the term centigrade in 1948. The term Celsius is now standard.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Cultural definitions for centigrade

centigrade

The Celsius temperature scale.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.