percentile

[ per-sen-tahyl, -til ]

/ pərˈsɛn taɪl, -tɪl /

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noun

one of the values of a variable that divides the distribution of the variable into 100 groups having equal frequencies: Ninety percent of the values lie at or below the ninetieth percentile, ten percent above it.

adjective

of or relating to a percentile or a division of a distribution by percentiles.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of percentile

First recorded in 1880–85; percent + -ile

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH percentile

percent, percentage, percentile (see confusables note at percent)

Words nearby percentile

perceived, perceived noise decibel, percent, percentage, percenter, percentile, percent sign, per centum, percept, perceptible, perception

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use percentile in a sentence

My scores improved, nudging me near the top 25th percentile.
I asked an AI to tell me how beautiful I am|Tate Ryan-Mosley|March 5, 2021|MIT Technology Review
The Buckeyes went FIB on roughly 25% of plays which ranks in the 93rd percentile on a game level.
What To Watch For In The College Football National Championship|Richard Johnson|January 11, 2021|FiveThirtyEight
The NWEA findings show that, compared to last year, students scored an average of 5 to 10 percentile points lower in math, with students in grades three, four and five experiencing the largest drops.
Students are falling behind in math during the pandemic|Rachel Schallom|December 1, 2020|Fortune
Only 27 of them traveled 95 mph or faster, putting him in just the second percentile of hard-hit percentage.
A bulked-up Victor Robles had a down year. He’ll look to fine-tune his game in winter ball.|Jesse Dougherty|November 12, 2020|Washington Post

For instance, boys in the 10th percentile saw a statistically significant decline of six points on the 500-point exam.
‘Nation’s report card’ shows declines for lowest-performing students|Laura Meckler|October 28, 2020|Washington Post
These differentials, he writes “places the average black at roughly the 16th percentile of the white IQ distribution.”
Immigrants’ IQ Lower, Wrote Coathor of Heritage Foundation Report|Jamelle Bouie|May 9, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The new measure is a relative measure, pegged to (approximately) how much the 33rd percentile is spending on various things.
The Poor We Shall Always Have With Us|Megan McArdle|November 16, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Recall figure 2.1 at the beginning of the book, showing stagnant incomes for people below the 50th income percentile.
Is the White Working Class Coming Apart?|David Frum|February 6, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Really well, actually—in the 97th percentile on reading comprehension and the 87th in math.
The Great College Road Trip|Nick Summers|April 8, 2011|DAILY BEAST
A state in the 90th percentile (with the least amount of complaints filed) was given 20 points.
20 Most Tolerant States|The Daily Beast|January 16, 2011|DAILY BEAST
In other words, the lengths of the individual vectors denote the percentile rle that each night played in the total density.
A Quantitative Study of the Nocturnal Migration of Birds.|George H. Lowery.
In height he gained from the 25 percentile to the 40 percentile.
Adenoids and Diseased Tonsils|Margaret Cobb Rogers

British Dictionary definitions for percentile

percentile

/ (pəˈsɛntaɪl) /

noun

one of 99 actual or notional values of a variable dividing its distribution into 100 groups with equal frequencies; the 90th percentile is the value of a variable such that 90% of the relevant population is below that valueAlso called: centile

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

Scientific definitions for percentile

percentile

[ pər-sĕn′tīl′ ]

Any of the 100 equal parts into which the range of the values of a set of data can be divided in order to show the distribution of those values. The percentile of a given value is determined by the percentage of the values that are smaller than that value. For example, a test score that is higher than 95 percent of the other scores is in the 95th percentile.