percent

or per cent

[ per-sent ]

noun

1. Also called per centum. one one-hundredth part; 1/100.
2. percentage ( defs 1, 3 ).
3. British. stocks, bonds, etc., that bear an indicated rate of interest.

adjective

1. 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

/ pər-sĕnt′ /

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

percent

1. 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%.

Confusables Note

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 Words From

• per·cental adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of percent¹

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

Example Sentences

Sixty percent of the club’s members rejected the initiative, but tens of thousands of members voted for it, demonstrating the reach of Tanton’s worldview.

From Salon

Zeldin has a 14 percent rating from the League of Conservation Voters, with the organization finding he opposed 51 out of 53 climate change bills on which he voted from 2015 to 2023.

From Salon

About 16 percent of those serving across all branches of the military are Black; about 17 percent are female.

From Salon

“Exit polls said that he grabbed 52 percent of white women. He also got their votes,” Maher joked, a reference to Trump's infamous "Access Hollywood" tape.

From Salon

Thirty-four percent of surveyed voters said the state of democracy mattered most in who they voted for president, while 14% said abortion mattered most.

From Salon

Related Words

• bonus
• chunk
• fee
• interest
• proportion
• rate
• ratio
• royalty