percent

Or per cent

[per-sent]

noun

1. Also called per centum. one one-hundredth part; 1/100.

2. percentage.

3. British.,  stocks, bonds, etc., that bear an indicated rate of interest.

adjective

1. figured or expressed on the basis of a rate or proportion per hundred (used in combination with a number in expressing rates of interest, proportions, etc.): %

   to get three percent interest.

percent

1. One part in a hundred. For example, 62 percent (also written 62%) means 62 parts out of 100.

percent

1. A fraction expressed as a number of hundredths. Twelve percent of a quantity, for example, is twelve one-hundredths of it. Twelve percent may also be written 12%.

Confusables Note

In the senses “rate or proportion per hundred” and “proportion in general” percent and percentage are frequently interchangeable. With a preceding number, only percent occurs ( a 16 percent decline ); with no preceding number, either occurs, but percentage is much more common: a certain percentage (or percent ) of the land.

Other Word Forms

• percental adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of percent¹

First recorded in 1560–70; short for Medieval Latin per centum “by the hundred”; per, cent

Example Sentences

More than 95 percent of all people have natural immunity to Hansen’s, which is only mildly communicable even to those with susceptibility, and since 1941, it has been entirely curable.

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The United States on Monday exempted British pharmaceuticals from import tariffs under a unique deal which sees the UK increase spending on American drugs by 25 percent.

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Shares in the company were down 10.24 percent at around 1200 GMT, while the Paris market was showing a small drop.

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VAT in Norway is set at 25 percent for cars.

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Lenacapavir, taken twice a year, has been shown to reduce the risk of HIV transmission by more than 99.9 percent, making it functionally akin to a powerful vaccine.

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Related Words

• bonus 
• chunk 
• fee 
• interest 
• proportion 
• rate 
• ratio 
• royalty