- a variation of percent.
per cent
Britishadverb
noun
-
a percentage or proportion
-
(often plural) securities yielding a rate of interest as specified
he bought three percents
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.
Fifty per cent of men and 30% of women with untreated FH will develop coronary heart disease by the age of 55.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
"Currency markets are still pricing in a consensus that US inflation will ultimately return to two per cent," said Invesco's David Chao.
From Barron's ● Sep. 16, 2026
"I've lost about 75 per cent of my tips, which is a significant amount of my income," he said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 29, 2026
Taking place on Wednesday 12 August, it will be the biggest coverage since the total eclipse in 1999, with the moon expected to cover 90 to 96 per cent of the sun.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
Between 1952 and 1957, about 80 per cent of the nests failed to produce young.
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
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.