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:
Burger King’s average U.S. franchisee profit last year dropped to around $185,000 per location, down from roughly $205,000 in 2023 and 2024, which executives have attributed in part to record beef prices.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 17, 2026
By ElAttrache’s estimation, he has performed the operation between 50 and 75 times per year over his career — including the two he has done on Ohtani, one in 2018 and one in 2023.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
Bradnam said both were "lower than the 15 air changes per hour" he believed was required to protect staff.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
It was traveling along the line of sight at more than 6,000 kilometers per second, indicating that a densely bound structure may have survived the initial blast and was now moving rapidly toward us.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026
Brooklyn stared out the window at a landscape of green, yellow, and brown as the Eurostar raced through the French countryside, going nearly 190 miles per hour.
From "City Spies" by James Ponti
These substances, known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances or PFAS, include thousands of compounds that are still widely used.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 23, 2026
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
In addition to pesticides, there’s been growing concerns about PFAS, short for per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances.
From Salon ● May 4, 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
Even when you don’t look at it, the stink per- vades everything.
From "The Great Gilly Hopkins" by Katherine Paterson
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
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
We'll take off sixty per. cent. if you wish.
From Plunkitt of Tammany Hall: a series of very plain talks on very practical politics, delivered by ex-Senator George Washington Plunkitt, the Tammany philosopher, from his rostrum—the New York County court house bootblack stand; Recorded by William L. Riordon by George Washington Plunkitt
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
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
He is posting comparable numbers to his two previous MVP campaigns and ranks second to Jokic in PER and win shares.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 2, 2022
PER Lusulu Power plans to build the 2.1 GW Lusulu plant in Zimbabwe's western province of Matabeleland North.
From Reuters ● Mar. 30, 2022
From @darrenrovell: $5,976: What Dabo Swinney made as a graduate assistant at Alabama in 1993. $22,123: What Dabo Swinney made PER DAY this season, including salary, bonuses & incentives.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 11, 2019
Mr Nickleby's income, at the period of his marriage, fluctuated between sixty and eighty pounds PER ANNUM.
From Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens
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.
