WordGarden.iopercent
B1Pronunciation
UK
- /pəsˈɛnt/
US
- /pərˈsɛnt/
Meanings
Noun
one part in every hundred; a proportion expressed out of 100
Beyond the definition
Imagine dividing a pizza into 100 equal slices. "Percent" tells you how many of those slices someone gets. It is a way of expressing a part as a fraction of 100. So, if you eat 25 slices, you have eaten 25 percent of the pizza. You can see percentages everywhere - discounts at stores ("20% off!"), grades on tests (85%), and statistics about populations ("30% live in cities"). It is a handy way to compare amounts because everyone understands "out of one hundred." You will often see the symbol "%" instead of the word "percent."
Think of it like this: if you get 90% on a test, that means you got 90 out of every 100 questions right. Percentages help us understand proportions and make sense of data in everyday life.
The word "percent" comes from the Latin per centum, meaning "out of one hundred." It represents a ratio expressed as a fraction of 100. Essentially, it's a way to show how much of something you have relative to the whole - and that "whole" is always considered to be 100 units.
You encounter percentages constantly in daily life. When a store advertises a "30% off" sale, it means they are reducing the price by $30 for every $100 of the original cost. When you see a news report stating that "65% of voters support the new policy," it indicates that 65 out of every 100 people surveyed expressed their approval.
Calculating percentages is straightforward: divide the part by the whole, then multiply by 100. For example, if a basketball player makes 7 shots out of 10 attempts, their shooting percentage is .
Percentages aren't limited to discounts or statistics; they're also used in finance (interest rates), science (the concentration of solutions), and on food labels and product packaging. They provide a standard way to compare values, regardless of the total amount. A change of 5% is easily understood whether it applies to $50 or $5,000.
So, next time you see a percentage, remember that it is simply a convenient way to express a proportion - a part measured against a whole of one hundred units. That makes comparisons and understanding data much easier.
Examples
- 1
Budget
We spent 30 percent of our budget on rent.
- 2
Test results
Only 40 percent of the students passed the first test.
- 3
Discount
The store is offering 20 percent off all winter coats.
- PatternX percent off
the price is reduced by X percent
- 4
Sales change
Sales rose by 12 percent last year.
- Patternchange by X percent
X percent is the size of the change
More examplesFewer examples
- 5
Tax rate
The tax rate went up to 8 percent in July.
- Patternto X percent
X percent is the new level
- 6
Battery level
My phone is at 15 percent, so I need to charge it.
- 7
Weather forecast
There is a 70 percent chance of rain tomorrow.
- 8
Agreement
I agree with you one hundred percent.
- Phraseone hundred percent
completely
- 9
Uncertainty
I'm not a hundred percent sure this address is right.
- Phrasenot a hundred percent sure
not completely sure
See also
Similar
Shades of meaning
Contrast
- absolute number
Do not confuse
- percentage point
Used with (collocations)
- ten percent
- percent of
Word family
Explore
Forms and spellings
2 forms open this card.
Main spelling
- percentnounadverb
Forms
- percentspluralnounadverb