as per

preposition

ˈaz-ˌpər 

: in accordance with : according to

as per your instructions

Phrases

as per usual

: in the accustomed or habitual way : as usual

As per usual I tried to see into Myra's mind and as per usual I got nowhere at all.

—Gore Vidal

Did you know?

Is It Grammatically Correct to Say as per?

Many wonder whether the as in as per is superfluous. Wouldn’t the phrase “per your instructions” mean much the same thing as “as per your instructions?” In that case, would it be incorrect to insert the extra word?

The fact is that both per and as per have existed in English in the sense “according to” for a very long time–since the 15th and 16th centuries, respectively. The choice of which to use (or avoid) is entirely a matter of taste. The more ponderous as per is often found in business and legal prose, or in writing that attempts to adopt a formal tone. It is not incorrect to use, but some find it overly legalistic and counsel avoiding it for that reason. On the other hand, it has been used to good effect in facetious mock-business-English (“as per the President’s shiny new Environmental Policy Act”). As in so many matters of diction, the tonal needs of a particular passage should guide your choice.

Examples of as per in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

My 1:1 with my manager has given me a lot to do and think about as per usual. —R29 Team, refinery29.com, 4 Sep. 2024

An internal investigation and a criminal investigation were being conducted as per protocol following police shootings. —Perry Vandell, The Arizona Republic, 11 Aug. 2024

There was no mention that Flick's former captain for the German national team, which was knocked out of the Euros by Spain at the quarter-final stage, had not been given the green light as per Gundogan, however. —Tom Sanderson, Forbes, 17 Aug. 2024

By the release of 2000 and 2006’s second and third films, Cruise was making a total of $75 million each (which is apparently made up of 30 percent of the gross box office earnings as per Cruise’s back-end deal). —Jenzia Burgos, StyleCaster, 9 Aug. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1569, in the meaning defined above