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

The group plans to do so by targeting children below the 25th percentile in reading on Illinois standardized assessments. —Gregory Harutunian, Chicago Tribune, 15 May 2025

Kirk’s best defensive attribute remains his framing, ranking in the 90th percentile for framing runs, per Baseball Savant. —Mitch Bannon, New York Times, 14 May 2025

In ‘25, Bailey’s chase rate is 29.4 percent (37th percentile). —Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 9 May 2025

Concerns about his arm length and wingspan (seventh percentile for offensive tackles) could eventually force him to move to guard. —Andrew Callahan, Boston Herald, 23 Apr. 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