[per-sent] 
| 1. | Also called per centum. one one-hundredth part; 1/100 . |
| 2. | percentage (defs. 1, 3). |
| 3. | British. stocks, bonds, etc., that bear an indicated rate of interest. |
| 4. | 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. Symbol: % |
| per·cent also per cent (pər-sěnt') adv. Out of each hundred; per hundred. n.
[From per cent., abbreviation of per centum, by the hundred : per, per; see per + centum, hundred; see dek  in Indo-European roots.]Usage Note: Statistically speaking, a quantity can be increased by any percentage but cannot be decreased by more than 100 percent. Once pollution has been reduced by 100 percent, for example, it ceases to exist. In defiance of this logic, however, advertisers sometimes refer to a 150 percent decrease in lost luggage or a new dental rinse that reduces plaque on teeth by over 300 percent. Presumably what is implied by the latter is that the new rinse is three times as effective as some other rinse, but such constructions are still subject to criticism as illogical. · Percent can take a singular or plural verb, depending on how the quantity being described is viewed. Very often what determines the form of the verb is the noun nearest to it. Thus one might say Eighty percent of the legislators are going to vote against the bill or Eighty percent of the legislature is set to vote the bill down. In the second sentence the group of legislators is considered as a body, not as individuals. When percent is used without a following prepositional phrase, either a singular or plural verb is acceptable. |
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%.
| percent also per cent (pər-sěnt') Pronunciation Key
One part in a hundred. For example, 62 percent (also written 62%) means 62 parts out of 100. |
