percent

/pərˈsɛnt/

/pəˈsɛnt/

Other forms: percents

A percent is part of something, split into a hundred pieces. For example, fifty percent of forty is twenty.

You'll hear a lot about percent and percentages in math. A percent can go from 0 percent to 100 percent. A percent is calculated by comparing a part of something compared to the whole. A baseball player's batting average is a percent. Athletes are known for talking about numbers that are impossible, like "I gave 110 percent!" You can do that in slang, but don't try it in math class.

Definitions of percent

1. noun

   a proportion in relation to a whole (which is usually the amount per hundred)
   synonyms: pct, per centum, percentage

   types:

   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

   hospital occupancy

   occupancy rate for hospitals

   hotel occupancy

   occupancy rate for hotels

   type of:

   proportion

   the quotient obtained when the magnitude of a part is divided by the magnitude of the whole