percentage

noun

per·​cent·​age pər-ˈsen-tij 

1

a

: a part of a whole expressed in hundredths

a high percentage of students attended

b

: the result obtained by multiplying a number by a percent

the percentage equals the rate times the base

2

a

: a share of winnings or profits

b

: advantage, profit

no percentage in going around looking like an old sack of laundry

—Wallace Stegner

3

: an indeterminate part : proportion

4

a

: probability

b

: favorable odds

Synonyms

• chance
• odds
• probability

Examples of percentage in a Sentence

If a goalie saves 96 out of 100 shots, his save percentage is 96 percent.

The percentages of women completing high school and college were 95 percent and 52 percent, respectively.

What percentage of your income do you spend on rent?

Recent Examples on the Web

The Lone Star state took up eight of the top 15 spots on a U.S. Census Bureau examination of the fastest-growing cities by percentage change in 2023. —Chris Morris, Fortune, 16 May 2024

The Times analysis accounted for this by rounding numbers, favoring percentages and dropping races that had a high margin of error. —Sandhya Kambhampati, Los Angeles Times, 16 May 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1757, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing percentage

• fielding percentage
• no percentage
• on-base percentage
• percentage point
• slugging percentage

Kids Definition

percentage

noun

per·​cent·​age pər-ˈsent-ij 

1

a

: a part of a whole expressed in hundredths

a high percentage of students attended

b

: the result obtained by multiplying a number by a percent

the percentage equals the rate times the base

2

a

: probability sense 3a

play the percentages

b

: favorable odds