Definition of percent
(Entry 1 of 3)
1
US percent
or chiefly British per cent plural percent
a
: one part in a hundred
We provided 100 percent [=100%] of the labor. I spend about 50 percent of my workday in meetings.
b
: percentage
A large percent of their income is used to pay rent.
2
percents plural, British
: securities bearing a specified rate of interest
We invested in 3 percents.
percent
adjectiveDefinition of percent (Entry 2 of 3)
1
: reckoned on the basis of a whole divided into 100 parts
There was a 20 percent [=20%] increase in orders. The manufacturer hopes to achieve a 10 percent decrease in carbon dioxide emissions.
2
: paying interest at a specified percent
a 4 percent government bond
percent
adverbDefinition of percent (Entry 3 of 3)
: in the hundred : of each hundred
The defendant was found 40 percent at fault. I agreed with their suggestions one hundred percent.
Test Your Vocabulary
Which Word Does Not Belong?
-
- Which of these words does not mean "nonsense"?

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?
TAKE THE QUIZ
A daily challenge for crossword fanatics.
TAKE THE QUIZLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share percent
Time Traveler for percent
The first known use of percent was in 1568
See more words from the same year