percent
gb/pɚsˈɛnt/ us/pɚsˈɛnt/
A2
English
~ 300
Senses
0 senses
Noun
A2
quantity
1
one part out of a hundred
A way to show how many parts there are out of 100.
Usage pattern:
[number] percent of [something]
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse 'percent' with 'percentage'. 'Percent' is usually used with a number (e.g., 50 percent), while 'percentage' is used without a specific number (e.g., a high percentage).
Synonyms
percentage (More general term; can refer to the concept in abstract or specific amounts.)
Antonyms
whole (Refers to the entirety, rather than a fraction out of 100.)
Collocations
ten percent
|fifty percent
|percent increase
|percent chance
|percent rate
Themes
mathematics
|business
|daily life
|core_vocabulary
|finance
Examples
- About 20 percent of the students failed the exam.
- The company reported a 15 percent increase in sales.
- Only five percent of the land is used for farming.
- She got a discount of 25 percent on the shoes.
- Less than one percent of the population is affected.
Learner examples
- Ten percent of my money is for food.
- He got ninety percent on the test.
- We paid fifty percent of the price now.
- Five percent of the apples are bad.
Grammar
Dictionary form
percent
IPA
GB/pɚsˈɛnt/
US/pɚsˈɛnt/
Syllables & stress
per - cent (2 syllables)
Stress on 1st syllable (per)
Word forms
Noun
- Base: percent
- Plural: percent, percents
Word family
Expressions
percent chance
1/pɚsˈɛnt t͡ʃˈæns/
fixed phrase
likelihood shown as a percentage
How likely something is, shown in parts out of 100.
Examples
- There's a 70 percent chance it will rain tomorrow.
- The doctor said there’s only a 10 percent chance of recovery.
percent decrease
1/pɚsˈɛnt dˈikɹˌis/
fixed phrase
reduction shown as a percentage
How much something has gone down, shown in parts out of 100.
Examples
- We saw a 3 percent decrease in energy use.
- The town had a 15 percent decrease in crime rates.
percent increase
1/pɚsˈɛnt ˈɪŋkɹis/
fixed phrase
growth shown as a percentage
How much something has grown, shown in parts out of 100.
Examples
- The report shows a 5 percent increase in profits this year.
- There was a 12 percent increase in visitors compared to last month.