per

[ pur; unstressed per ]

See synonyms for per on Thesaurus.com

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.

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

Added to drinking water at concentrations of around one part per million, fluoride ions stick to dental plaque.
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers | Michael Schulson | July 27, 2016 | THE DAILY BEAST
During an emergency that ratio could be allowed to drop to 8.5 people per orbit.
Exclusive: U.S. Drone Fleet at ‘Breaking Point,’ Air Force Says | Dave Majumdar | January 5, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
Well over a thousand holes in, I average less than four strokes per hole.
Lost For Thousands of Strokes: 'Desert Golfing' Is 'Angry Birds' as Modern Art | Alec Kubas-Meyer | January 2, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
At least one child in CAR has been killed or gravely injured per day, and 10,000 have been recruited into militant groups.
The Year’s Most Forgotten Humanitarian Crisis | Nina Strochlic | January 1, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
Bitcoin began 2013 with a roaring price of $770 per unit, and businesses right and left were converting to the ethereal product.
You Were Wrong About Miley & Bitcoin: 2014’s Failed Predictions | Nina Strochlic | December 31, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST

I doubt that thirty persons per day are carried into or brought out of it by all public conveyances whatever.
Glances at Europe | Horace Greeley
The Act permits member banks to accept an amount of bills not exceeding 50 per cent.
Readings in Money and Banking | Chester Arthur Phillips
At this period it brought enormous prices, the finest selling at from fifteen to eighteen shillings per pound.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce | E. R. Billings.
In 1205 wheat was worth 12 pence per bushel, which was cheap, as there had been some years of famine previous thereto.
Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham | Thomas T. Harman and Walter Showell
We did not talk much about the past at dinner, except—ah me, how bitterly we regretted our 10 per cent.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I | Ian Hamilton

British Dictionary definitions for per (1 of 3)

per

/ (pɜː, unstressed pə) /

determiner

for every: three pence per pound

preposition

(esp in some Latin phrases) by; through
as per according to: as per specifications

as per usual informal as usual

Origin of 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

through: pervade
throughout: perennial

away, beyond: perfidy
completely, throughly: perplex
(intensifier): perfervid
indicating that a chemical compound contains a high proportion of a specified element: peroxide; perchloride
indicating that a chemical element is in a higher than usual state of oxidation: permanganate; perchlorate
(not in technical usage) a variant of peroxy- persulphuric acid

Origin of 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

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