per
[ pur; unstressed per ]
/ pɜr; unstressed pər /
Save This Word!
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 as per . according to; in accordance with: I delivered the box per your instructions.He managed to monopolize the meeting, per usual.
adverb
Informal. each; for each one: The charge for window-washing was five dollars per.
QUIZ
CAN YOU ANSWER THESE COMMON GRAMMAR DEBATES?
There are grammar debates that never die; and the ones highlighted in the questions in this quiz are sure to rile everyone up once again. Do you know how to answer the questions that cause some of the greatest grammar debates?
Question 1 of 7
Which sentence is correct?
Origin of per
First recorded in 1580–90; from Latin: “through, by, for, for each”; see for
usage note for per
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.
WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH per
per , purr (see usage note at the current entry)Other definitions for per (2 of 4)
per-
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 (H2C2O5), permanganic (HMnO4), persulfuric (H2S2O8), acids; potassium permanganate (KMnO4); potassium persulfate (K2S2O8).
Origin of per-
From Latin, combining form of per, and used as an intensive; per
Other definitions for per (3 of 4)
per.
abbreviation
percentile.
period.
person.
Other definitions for per (4 of 4)
Per.
abbreviation
Persia.
Persian.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use per in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for per (1 of 3)
per
/ (pɜː, unstressed pə) /
determiner
for everythree pence per pound
preposition
(esp in some Latin phrases) by; through
as per according toas per specifications
as per usual informal as usual
Word Origin for per
C15: from Latin: by, for each
British Dictionary definitions for per (2 of 3)
PER
abbreviation for (in Britain)
Professional Employment Register
British Dictionary definitions for per (3 of 3)
per-
prefix
Word Origin for per-
from Latin per through
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