percent

per·cent

also per cent P0182100 (pər-sĕnt′)adv. Out of each hundred; per hundred.n.1. pl. percent also per cent One part in a hundred: The report states that 42 percent of the alumni contributed to the endowment. Also called per centum.2. pl. percents A percentage or portion: She has invested a large percent of her salary.3. percents Chiefly British Public securities yielding interest at a specified percentage.adj. Paying or demanding interest at a specified percentage: a 2.25 percent checking account.

[Short for Early Modern English per centum (formed on the model of Italian per cento, for (every) hundred) : Latin per, through, by; see per + centum, hundred; see dekm̥ 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.

per•cent

or per cent

(pərˈsɛnt)

n. 1. one one-hundredth part; 1/100. 2. percentage (defs. 1, 3). 3. Brit. stocks, bonds, etc., that bear an indicated rate of interest. adj. 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.). Symbol: % [1560–70; short for Medieval Latin per centum by the hundred] per•cent′al, adj. usage: percent is derived from per cent., an abbreviation in English of per centum, a phrase borrowed directly from Latin. The use of the two-word form is diminishing. The percent sign (%) is used chiefly in scientific, tabular, or statistical material and only with numerals preceding it: 58%. In the sense “proportion in general,” with no preceding number, percent and percentage are frequently interchangeable, but percentage is much more common: a certain percentage (or percent) of the land.

per·cent

also per cent (pər-sĕnt′) One part in a hundred. For example, 62 percent (also written 62%) means 62 parts out of 100.

Thesaurus

Noun

percent - a proportion in relation to a whole (which is usually the amount per hundred)pct, per centum, percentageproportion - the quotient obtained when the magnitude of a part is divided by the magnitude of the wholeabsentee rate - the percentage of workers who do not report to workoccupancy rate - the percentage of all rental units (as in hotels) are occupied or rented at a given timevacancy rate - the percentage of all rental units (as in hotels) that are unoccupied or not rented at a given timeunemployment rate - the percentage of the work force that is unemployed at any given date

Translations

percent

[pər′sent] (mathematics) A quantitative term whereby n percent of a number is n one-hundredths of the number. Symbolized %.

Percent

hundredths. One percent is one one-hundredth. The symbol for percent is %. Thus, 19% of 3 m is 0.57 m, or 57 cm. When speaking of thousandths of a whole—that is, tenths of one percent—the terms “per mill” or “parts per thousand” are sometimes used; in Russian usage the symbol ‰ is used in this case. Parts of quantities are commonly expressed in percent in economic and statistical calculations and in many areas of science.

One important use of the concept of percent is the expression of interest rates. For simple interest, the simple interest formula is used: if the interest on an amount a is p% per year (or some other interval of time), then after t years the total of a and interest is x = a(1 + pt/100). It is assumed here that at the end of each year the interest income for the year is withdrawn; the interest in the following year is thus calculated from the initial amount. If, however, the interest is added to the initial amount and the interest for the following year is consequently calculated from the increased amount, we speak of compound interest. In this case, the total of a and interest after t years is calculated by the formula x = a(1 + p/100)^t. When interest is calculated for a portion of a year, the year is usually taken as 360 days, and each month as 30 days; interest calculated in accordance with this convention is known as ordinary interest.

Compound interest and related concepts are used in many areas of economic activity and bookkeeping—for example in commercial and savings banks. They are also used in various statistical computations; in particular, they are used in determining the average annual rate of relative increase or decrease over extended periods of time, such as periods of five or ten years.

percent

%

Common: ITU-T: percent sign; mod; grapes. INTERCAL:double-oh-seven.

percent

per·cent

per•cent

or per cent

per·cent

percent

a hundred and ten percent

give 110%

a/one hundred percent

Genius is 10 percent inspiration and 90 percent perspiration.

Genius is ten percent inspiration and ninety percent perspiration.

a/one hundred per ˈcent

percent

percent

Percent

percent

percent

percent

percent

Synonyms for percent

noun a proportion in relation to a whole (which is usually the amount per hundred)

Synonyms

Related Words