decile

American  

[des-il, -ahyl] / ˈdɛs ɪl, -aɪl /

noun

Statistics.

1. one of the values of a variable that divides the distribution of the variable into ten groups having equal frequencies.

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decile British  

/ -aɪl, ˈdɛsɪl /

noun

1. statistics

   1. one of nine actual or notional values of a variable dividing its distribution into ten groups with equal frequencies: the ninth decile is the value below which 90% of the population lie See also percentile

   2. a tenth part of a distribution

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Etymology

Origin of decile

First recorded in 1880–85; dec- + -ile

Example Sentences

The top decile of funds in that PivotalPath index returned nearly 30%.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 24, 2026

The first column focuses on the 10% of days last year in which the timers were most optimistic; the second column focuses on the decile of days in which the timers were most pessimistic.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 6, 2026

We are using terms like "highly deprived" and "most deprived" to refer to the group of neighbourhoods in the first decile.

From BBC • Nov. 27, 2025

He points out that the decile of the Russell 3000 that did the best from Aug. 1 to Oct.

From Barron's • Oct. 22, 2025

Relatively well- off workers in the eighth decile, or 10 percent-sized slice, where earnings are about $20 an hour, are now making 106.6 percent of what they earned in 1973.

From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich