percentile

noun

per·​cen·​tile pər-ˈsen-ˌtī(-ə)l 

: a value on a scale of 100 that indicates the percent of a distribution that is equal to or below it

a score in the 95th percentile

Examples of percentile in a Sentence

His height and weight are in the 80th percentile for boys his age.

Recent Examples on the Web

Last season, Dosunmu finished in the 96th percentile in BBall Index’s Matchup Difficulty metric. —Mat Issa, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025

Defensively, Wilson’s Outs Above Average ranks in just the 15th percentile, but his arm strength is in the 78th percentile. —Jim Bowden, New York Times, 8 Sep. 2025

Not bad for a player whose sprint speed ranks in the 16th percentile across the sport, per Baseball Savant. —Jackson Roberts, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Sep. 2025

Or 54% of all occupations when the 90th percentile is thrown in. —Jonathan Lansner, Oc Register, 29 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1885, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for percentile

• campanile
• chrysotile
• domicil
• domicile
• mercantile
• neuropil
• nonpareil
• peristyle
• reconcile
• thermopile
• aisle
• bile

Medical Definition

percentile

noun

per·​cen·​tile pər-ˈsen-ˌtīl 

: a value on a scale of one hundred that indicates the percent of a distribution that is equal to or below it

a percentile score of 95 is a score equal to or better than 95 percent of the scores