- 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.
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
One luxury hotel in Simeiz –- whose managers did not wish to be named –- said it was offering 30 per cent discounts to bring the tourists back.
From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026
The company has forecast second-quarter operating profits to increase 1,800 per cent on last year.
From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026
Fifty-nine per cent of the BBC network TV budget was spent outside London last year, although that is down by one percentage point on the year before.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
The fall in temperature would in turn have shut off much of living, and, in a long sigh, the level of oxygen may have dropped by 90 per cent.
From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas
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.
