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per cent

British

/ pə ˈsɛnt /

adverb

Also: per centum. %. in or for every hundred

"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

noun

a percentage or proportion
(often plural) securities yielding a rate of interest as specified

he bought three percents

"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

Etymology

Origin of per cent

C16: from Medieval Latin per centum out of every hundred

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.

The five-year gilt rate was down the equivalent of a quarter per cent rate cut.

From BBC • Apr. 8, 2026

PetTV is available to paid subscribers of Tencent Video, which said its market research found that 66 per cent of dog owners leave the television on for their pets when they are out.

From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026

"Between 10-24 per cent of the population unknowingly carry this germ at the back of their throats usually without any harm," said Lee.

From Barron's • Mar. 19, 2026

Another major gene, PIK3CA, was present in 47 per cent of feline mammary tumors.

From Science Daily • Mar. 18, 2026

Between 1952 and 1957, about 80 per cent of the nests failed to produce young.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023