Synonyms

percent

American

[per-sent] / pərˈsɛnt /

Or per cent

noun

Also called per centum. one one-hundredth part; 1/100.
percentage.
British. stocks, bonds, etc., that bear an indicated rate of interest.

adjective

figured or expressed on the basis of a rate or proportion per hundred (used in combination with a number in expressing rates of interest, proportions, etc.): %

to get three percent interest.

percent Scientific

/ pər-sĕnt′ /

One part in a hundred. For example, 62 percent (also written 62%) means 62 parts out of 100.

percent Cultural

A fraction expressed as a number of hundredths. Twelve percent of a quantity, for example, is twelve one-hundredths of it. Twelve percent may also be written 12%.

Commonly Confused

In the senses “rate or proportion per hundred” and “proportion in general” percent and percentage are frequently interchangeable. With a preceding number, only percent occurs ( a 16 percent decline ); with no preceding number, either occurs, but percentage is much more common: a certain percentage (or percent ) of the land.

Other Word Forms

percental adjective

Etymology

Origin of percent

First recorded in 1560–70; short for Medieval Latin per centum “by the hundred”; per, cent

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.

Ninety percent of it doesn’t land on anybody.

From Los Angeles Times

Fifty-five percent of Americans say AI will do more harm than good in their day-to-day lives, an 11% increase since last April, according to poll results released Monday.

From Los Angeles Times

Japan depends on the Middle East for 95 percent of its oil imports and has had to dip into strategic stockpiles to temper the impact of rising fuel prices since the start of the war.

From Barron's

Cox Automotive forecasts a 0.1 percent dip in Toyota's auto sales in the first quarter.

From Barron's

Wall Street surged, with the Nasdaq up 3.8 percent and the S&P 500 adding almost three percent.

From Barron's

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