View synonyms for percent

percent

or per cent

[ per-sent ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

Also called per centum. one one-hundredth part; 1/100.
percentage ( defs 1, 3 ).
British. stocks, bonds, etc., that bear an indicated rate of interest.

adjective

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

/ pər-sĕnt′ /

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

percent

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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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.

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Other Words From

per·cental adjective

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Word History and Origins

Origin of percent¹

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

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