Definition

1. Adverb:
   • By a factor of one hundred; to one hundred times the amount or degree: This word indicates multiplication or increase by one hundred. It is used to compare a final state to an original state, emphasizing a very large increase or repetition.

Usage

• The word "a hundred times" functions as an adverbial phrase. It modifies verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs to describe the magnitude or frequency of an action or state.
• It is typically used in comparative constructions, often following a verb like "increased," "more," or "as often as."

Examples

• Adverb:
  • The company's profits grew a hundred times in just a decade. (This means the final profits were one hundred times greater than the original.)
  • This new material is a hundred times stronger than the old one.
  • I've told you a hundred times to clean your room! (Here, it is used idiomatically to mean "many times," emphasizing great repetition.)

Advanced Usage

• "a hundred times over": Used for extra emphasis on the completeness or extent of the multiplication or repetition.
  • I would make that sacrifice a hundred times over.
• In mathematical or scientific contexts, it can be synonymous with "a hundredfold."
  • The reaction rate accelerated a hundred times.

Variants and Related Words

• Hundredfold (adverb/adjective): Increasing or multiplied by one hundred. (e.g., )
• A hundredfold (adverbial phrase): An alternative form with the same meaning as "a hundred times."

Synonyms

• A hundredfold: By a factor of one hundred.
• Centuple: (Rare, technical) Hundredfold.

Related Phrases

• Times: Used in multiplication (e.g., ). "A hundred times" is a specific instance of this construction.
• Multiplied by a hundred: A more descriptive phrase with the same meaning.

Idioms and Figurative Use

• "I've said it a hundred times": A common idiom meaning one has repeated something very often, though not necessarily exactly one hundred times. It emphasizes frustration or insistence.
  • I've said it a hundred times: don't touch the stove!
• "A hundred times better/worse/more": Used for hyperbolic comparison to mean vastly superior, inferior, or greater.
  • Her new apartment is a hundred times better than her old one.

Adverb

1. by a factor of one hundred
   • they money increased a hundredfold