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per cent

British  
/ pə ˈsɛnt /

adverb

  1. 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

  1. a percentage or proportion

  2. (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.

"A key finding from this research is that about 10 per cent of the energy released as matter falls in towards the black hole is carried away by the jets," Dr. Prabu said.

From Science Daily • Apr. 18, 2026

They say more than 85 per cent of aquatic and marine vegetation, including saltmarsh, seagrass and kelp, has been lost over the past 50 years.

From BBC • Apr. 13, 2026

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

When I asked Doreen about this she said the tipping percentage might well have risen from ten to fifteen per cent since she was last in New York.

From "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Plath