percent

per·cent also per cent  (pr-snt)

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 5 ¹/₂ percent checking account.

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[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.

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percent also per cent  (pr-snt)

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

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

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