per
preposition
for each; for every.
per
1 American
[pur, per]
/ pɜr, pər /
preposition
-
for each; for every.
Membership costs ten dollars per year. This cloth is two dollars per yard.
-
by means of; by; through.
I am sending the recipe per messenger.
-
Also according to; in accordance with.
I delivered the box per your instructions.
He managed to monopolize the meeting, per usual.
adverb
per-
2
American
-
a prefix meaning “through,” “thoroughly,” “utterly,” “very”: pervert; pervade; perfect.
-
Chemistry. a prefix used in the names of inorganic acids and their salts that possess the maximum amount of the element specified in the base word: percarbonic (H 2 C 2 O5 ), permanganic (HMnO4 ), persulfuric (H 2 S 2 O8 ), acids; potassium permanganate (KMnO4 ); potassium persulfate (K 2 S 2 O8 ).
per.
3
American
abbreviation
-
percentile.
-
period.
-
person.
Per.
4
American
abbreviation
-
Persia.
-
Persian.
per-
1
British
prefix
-
through
pervade
-
throughout
perennial
-
away, beyond
perfidy
-
completely, throughly
perplex
-
(intensifier)
perfervid
-
indicating that a chemical compound contains a high proportion of a specified element
peroxide
perchloride
-
indicating that a chemical element is in a higher than usual state of oxidation
permanganate
perchlorate
-
(not in technical usage) a variant of peroxy-
persulphuric acid
per
2
British
/ pə, pɜː /
determiner
preposition
-
(esp in some Latin phrases) by; through
-
according to
as per specifications
-
informal as usual
PER
3
British
abbreviation
Usage
Per meaning a or an or for each occurs chiefly in technical or statistical contexts: miles per gallon; work-hours per week; feet per second; gallons of beer per person per year. It is also common in sports commentary: He averaged 16 points per quarter. Per is sometimes criticized in business writing in the sense “according to” and is rare in literary writing.
Etymology
Origin of per1
First recorded in 1580–90; from Latin: “through, by, for, for each”; see for
Origin of per-2
From Latin, combining form of per, and used as an intensive; per
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
At Target, he noted, consumer foot traffic rose 3.6% in the second quarter, but spending per trip was flat.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026
“Our animal care team does an incredible job caring for these animals,” says Carter, noting that the park performs “significant amounts of rescues” per year.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
Treasury to announce it was doubling the buyback volume of long-end nominal securities to at least $4 billion per operation, which stabilized markets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
Small boat crossing figures and the average number of people per boat are taken from the Home Office daily data, external.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
“There is not even one guard per gallery. The situation is one of carelessness, negligence, indifference.”
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
The analysis also found that 64 percent of samples contained at least one per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance, also known as "forever chemicals", which are found throughout the environment and everyday products.
From Barron's ● Jan. 29, 2026
There are nearly 15,000 per- and polyfluoroalkyl chemicals, and for decades, their use has been widespread in everything from nonstick cookware and stain-resistant carpets to refrigeration systems.
From Salon ● Dec. 9, 2024
PFAS, a vast class of chemicals also called per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, are widespread in the environment.
From New York Times ● Jun. 10, 2024
Man-made per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, known as PFAS, are found in all sorts of industrial and consumer products, including carpets, rain jackets, and makeup.
From Slate ● Apr. 18, 2024
“Dumbledore’s reading what signs?” said Ron, looking per- Hedwig gave him an extremely offended look and took off for the open window, cuffing him around the head with her outstretched wing as she went.
From "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" by J. K. Rowling
And even with our ten per. off, it's forty per. profit for him.
From Winnie Childs The Shop Girl by C. N. (Charles Norris) Williamson
The verb and pronoun of the 1st per. sing. and 3d per. plur. are frequently incorporated into one word, and written taim I am, taid they are.
From Elements of Gaelic Grammar by Alexander Stewart
Lily had had an eye on it for some time, and would, of course, get it "ten per." off.
From Winnie Childs The Shop Girl by C. N. (Charles Norris) Williamson
He, She, or It, is third per. sing.;
From English Grammar in Familiar Lectures by Samuel Kirkham
We is first per. plural; Ye or You is second per. plural; They is third per. plural.
From English Grammar in Familiar Lectures by Samuel Kirkham
Per. & my nephew & the “Process” have made a great stride forward.
From The Letters of Anne Gilchrist and Walt Whitman by Anne Burrows Gilchrist
Per. p¾dÏzahr bezoar; p¾d protecting + zahr poison; cf.
From Webster's Unabridged Dictionary (2nd 100 Pages) by Noah Webster
The Blaenavon Co., to which Per. is chemist, has gone into liquidation—& I don’t know whether it will continue to exist—or how soon in these dull times he may find a good opening elsewhere.
From The Letters of Anne Gilchrist and Walt Whitman by Anne Burrows Gilchrist
The Theme or Root of the Verb is always found in the second Per. sing. of the imperative.
From Elements of Gaelic Grammar by Alexander Stewart
States that maintain a PER of 6 percent or lower will not have to pay into SNAP, with the federal government continuing to pay 100 percent of the program.
From Slate ● Nov. 14, 2025
PER Lusulu Power had also sought financing of up to $2 billion for the project from ICBC, according to extracts of a term sheet dated August 2020 viewed by Reuters.
From Reuters ● Mar. 30, 2022
“Just one example cattle farmers have to pay $2600 PER COW a year,” Melissa Tate wrote.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 8, 2021
As of Monday, December 11th, there have been 345 excruciating days in 2017, which means this Middle Earth wanderer has averaged 1.04 viewings of the Return of the King PER DAY this year.
From Golf Digest ● Dec. 11, 2017
This, as directed by his Majesty's regulation, consisted of, per man per diem, PER MAN PER DIEM.
From An Account of the English Colony in New South Wales, Volume 2 by David Collins
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
