percentile

American  

[per-sen-tahyl, -til] / pərˈsɛn taɪl, -tɪl /

noun

1. 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.

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adjective

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

percentile British  

/ pəˈsɛntaɪl /

noun

1. Also called: centile.  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 value

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percentile Scientific  

/ pər-sĕn′tīl′ /

1. 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.

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Etymology

Origin of percentile

First recorded in 1880–85; percent + -ile

Compare meaning

How does percentile compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• quantile vs. percentile

Example Sentences

But Estrada’s research suggests that an indicator between the 10th and 90th percentile of its distribution tells us little one way or the other about the stock market’s expected returns over the next few years.

From MarketWatch

U.S. stock correlation has been below 20% for two months, in the ninth percentile for 20 years, as investors assess AI’s impact.

From Barron's

Investors Intelligence’s tally of opinions showed bulls topping bears by 40 percentage points, a reading in the 90 th percentile of positivity, according to Jeff deGraaf, founder and chairman of Renaissance Macro Research.

From Barron's

Investors Intelligence’s tally of opinions showed bulls topping bears by 40 percentage points, a reading in the 90 th percentile of positivity, according to Jeff deGraaf, founder and chairman of Renaissance Macro Research.

From Barron's

Investors Intelligence’s tally of opinions showed bulls topping bears by 40 percentage points, a reading in the 90 th percentile of positivity, according to Jeff deGraaf, founder and chairman of Renaissance Macro Research.

From Barron's