Word
percent
Phoneticsper·cent
US/pɝˈsɛnt/
UK/pəsˈɛnt/
Definitions
01a proportion out of 100
n. one part in every hundred.
n. one one-hundredth part of a whole; often used to describe a specific proportion or rate.
“Only ten percent of the class passed the difficult exam.”
“A significant percent of the annual budget is allocated to research and development to ensure long-term competitiveness.”
Academic
Usage
In formal writing, 'percent' is usually written out as a word, while '%' is preferred in technical or scientific data.
Pitfall
A large percent of the students was late.
A large percent of the students were late.
When 'percent of' is followed by a plural noun, use a plural verb.
Synonyms
02for every hundred
adv. for or out of every hundred.
adv. by or for every hundred; used after a numeral to indicate a proportion.
“The price of bread increased by five percent last month.”
“The population grew by nearly three percent annually during the decade, placing immense pressure on local infrastructure.”
American English · Academic
Usage
In American English, 'percent' is the standard spelling for both the noun and adverb; British English often uses 'per cent' as two words.
03the symbol %
n. the symbol % used in writing and math.
n. the typographical character or sign (%) representing a percentage.
“You need to type the percent sign after the number in the spreadsheet.”
“The software requires the user to escape the percent character when it appears within a text string to avoid a processing error.”
Technical
Synonyms
Etymology
From New Latin per centum (“by the hundred”).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Collocations
Related words
Idioms
51 percent — A narrow or bare majority.
a hundred and ten percent — A level of effort beyond what one can usually sustain; great exertion.