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per cent

British

/ pə ˈsɛnt /

adverb

Also: per centum. %. in or for every hundred

"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

noun

a percentage or proportion
(often plural) securities yielding a rate of interest as specified

he bought three percents

"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

Etymology

Origin of per cent

C16: from Medieval Latin per centum out of every hundred

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.

The five-year gilt rate was down the equivalent of a quarter per cent rate cut.

From BBC • Apr. 8, 2026

PetTV is available to paid subscribers of Tencent Video, which said its market research found that 66 per cent of dog owners leave the television on for their pets when they are out.

From Barron's • Apr. 3, 2026

And Clarke admits he's shifted slightly in his own mind, having previously said his chances of staying were only 25 per cent.

From BBC • Mar. 16, 2026

They are also developing recycling methods that could recover around 90 per cent of the iridium still needed.

From Science Daily • Feb. 26, 2026

In this particular stream, game fish had been reduced by 80 per cent.

From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson

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