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  

/ ˈdɛsɪl, -aɪl /

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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

decile

When I ranked S&P 500 10-year returns by decile, I came up with the following:

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2026

It plots the trailing 12-month difference between two portfolios: The first contains the 10% of stocks with the best recent performance and the second owns the lowest-performing decile.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026

The top decile of households accounts for 37% of consumer debt growth, increasing balances at a 10.9% annualized rate.

From Barron's ● Jun. 22, 2026

Also striking: The share owned by the decile of wealthy households that rank just below the top 1% has shrunk slightly.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 18, 2026

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

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