percent

IPA/pəˈsent/
KK[pɚsˈɛnt]IPA/pɚˈsent/

percent — adverb

1. used after a number to show how many parts there are in each hundred, whether wr

1.adverbB1
Definition

used after a number to show how many parts there are in each hundred, whether written in words or with the sign %.

Example

Only 12 percent of the class brought raincoats to school today.

number + percent of + noun

Gas prices rose 5 percent after the holiday weekend.

rise + number + percent

Common collocations
  • 10 percent of
  • 50 percent more
  • rise 5 percent
  • at 30 percent
Synonyms

Grammar Patterns

number + percent + of + noun

rise/fall + number + percent

be at + number + percent

Usage Note

Follows an exact number and commonly appears with 'of' before the group or whole being measured. In British writing, the two-word spelling 'per cent' is also common.

Common Mistakes

Only 12 percent students came.
Only 12 percent of the students came.
use 'of' before the noun phrase that names the whole group.
Prices rose by 5 percentages.
Prices rose by 5 percent.
use 'percent' after a number, not 'percentage' in this pattern.

2. used, especially with 100, to mark how strong your certainty, agreement, or beli

2.adverbB2
Definition

used, especially with 100, to mark how strong your certainty, agreement, or belief is about something being true.

Example

I'm 100 percent sure Leo left his keys on the kitchen table.

100 percent + sure

Rina does not 100 percent agree with the new school rule.

100 percent + agree

Common collocations
  • 100 percent sure
  • 100 percent agree
  • 90 percent certain
  • not 100 percent convinced
Synonyms
  • definitely

    fits certainty, but not exact agreement percentages

  • certainly

    formal or neutral marker of strong belief

  • fully

    works especially with 'agree', not with all certainty statements

Antonyms
  • doubtfully

    rare and stylistically marked opposite showing doubt

  • partly

    used when agreement or confidence is incomplete

Grammar Patterns

100 percent + sure/certain/convinced

100 percent + agree

number + percent + sure

Usage Note

Most common with '100 percent' and words such as 'sure', 'certain', 'agree', and 'convinced'. Distinguish from sense 3: this sense grades belief or agreement, rather than saying something is complete in itself.

Common Mistakes

I am percent sure he called.
I am 100 percent sure he called.
this use needs a number before 'percent'.
I 100 percent am agree.
I 100 percent agree.
place 'percent' before the main verb, not inside the verb phrase.

3. used for strong emphasis to say that something is complete, total, or leaves no

3.adverbB2
Definition

used for strong emphasis to say that something is complete, total, or leaves no room for doubt.

Example

This soup is 100 percent vegetarian, so Ken can eat it.

100 percent + adjective

By Friday, the team was 100 percent ready for the final.

Common collocations
  • 100 percent vegetarian
  • 100 percent ready
  • 100 percent behind
  • 100 percent dry
Synonyms
Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

100 percent + adjective

100 percent + past participle

be 100 percent behind + noun

Usage Note

Common in speech and informal writing with adjectives, past participles, and phrases like 'behind the plan'. Distinguish from sense 2 when the speaker is not measuring confidence or agreement, but stressing completeness.

Common Mistakes

The room is percent clean now.
The room is 100 percent clean now.
this emphatic use normally needs a number, especially 100.
I am 100 percent with this idea.
I am 100 percent behind this idea.
'behind' is the usual preposition for support.

percent — noun

percent — adjective

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/2

These words all compare a part with a whole, but they are not used in exactly the same way. 'Percent' usually comes after an exact number: '25 percent of the class'. 'Percentage' is the noun for the rate itself when no exact number comes first, as in 'the percentage of students who passed'. 'Proportion' is broader and more formal; it can compare parts without using a scale of 100. 'Ratio' is more mathematical still, because it sets one amount directly against another, such as 3:1 or 5:2. So you can say 'A high percentage of voters turned out', but 'The ratio of girls to boys was 3:2.' If the figure is explicitly hundred-based, 'percent' is usually the clearest word.

percent ↗percentage ↗proportion ↗ratio ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • percent chance
  • percent increase
  • percent discount
  • percent cut

Adverbs

  • about x percent
  • almost x percent
  • nearly x percent
  • roughly x percent

Phrases

  • 100 percent
  • 10 percent off
  • one hundred percent
  • by 5 percent

Prepositions

  • percent of
  • percent in

Etymology

LatinFrenchEnglish

English first used the phrase 'per cent', literally meaning 'for each hundred'. It was shaped by earlier Romance expressions built from Latin 'per' meaning 'for each' and 'centum' meaning 'hundred'. Over time, especially in American English, the two words were often written together as 'percent'. British English long preferred the spaced form 'per cent', though both spellings are now seen.