quintile

noun

quin·​tile ˈkwin-ˌtī(-ə)l 

: any of the four values that divide the items of a frequency distribution into five classes with each containing one fifth of the total population

also : any one of the five classes

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Breaking Down the Meaning of Quintile

Many people have a deep interest in statistics about themselves, whether the information provided is about income, ice-cream consumption, or trash production. And any such rating can be divided into fifths, or quintiles. The fifth or lowest quintile would include the 20 percent of the population who make the least money or eat the least ice cream or generate the least trash, and the first quintile would include the 20 percent who make, eat, or generate the most.

Examples of quintile in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

For the first part, Weaver screened for S & P 1500 stocks in the top quintile of average analyst ratings on Jan. 15 in order to allow some time after the first of the year for deployment of capital. —Michelle Fox, CNBC, 8 Oct. 2025

The Federal Reserve’s Survey of Consumer Finances and Distributional Financial Accounts provides a breakdown of the average household net worth by income quintile and reports the lowest 20 percent quintile had a median net worth of $6,400. —Sarah Biller, Forbes.com, 14 Aug. 2025

The Tax Policy Center, which provides nonpartisan analysis of tax and budget policy, projected the bill would result next year in a $150 tax break for the lowest quintile of Americans, a $1,750 tax cut for the middle quintile and a $10,950 tax cut for the top quintile. —arkansasonline.com, 4 July 2025

The center also estimates that nearly 60 percent of the tax benefits would go to those in the top quintile of annual incomes, or about $217,000 or more. —Miriam Waldvogel, The Hill, 3 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

Latin quintus + English -ile entry 2

First Known Use

1922, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for quintile

• lintel
• pintle
• quintal