percent

American  

[per-sent] / pərˈsɛnt /

Or per cent

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.

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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 Scientific  

/ pər-sĕnt′ /

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

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percent Cultural  

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%.

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Commonly Confused

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

Etymology

Origin of percent

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

Explanation

A percent is part of something, split into a hundred pieces. For example, fifty percent of forty is twenty. You'll hear a lot about percent and percentages in math. A percent can go from 0 percent to 100 percent. A percent is calculated by comparing a part of something compared to the whole. A baseball player's batting average is a percent. Athletes are known for talking about numbers that are impossible, like "I gave 110 percent!" You can do that in slang, but don't try it in math class.

Example Sentences

The company added that it expects organic total revenue growth of at least 10% a year beyond 2026, with earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization margins in a mid-40s percent range.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 19, 2026

Current estimates suggest dark matter could account for more than 85 percent of the matter in the universe.

From Science Daily • May 19, 2026

But still, polls show 60 percent of Mexicans feel unsafe, and Mexico's first female president is under intense pressure from Washington.

From Barron's • May 18, 2026

Just a few percent of clothes sold today in the UK are made here.

From BBC • May 18, 2026

By June 30, 2008, any investor who had stuck with Scion Capital from its beginning, on November 1, 2000, had a gain, after fees and expenses, of 489.34 percent.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

Related Words

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