# per

Pronunciation: say "PUR" US /pɝ/, UK /pɜː/

## Preposition

1. For each; used to give a rate, price, or amount for every single unit, person, or thing.
   - Simple: For each one, used to say how much or how many for every one, as in 60 miles per hour.
   - _The car was traveling at sixty miles per hour._
   - _Sound moves at roughly 343 meters per second through air._
2. In accordance with; following what has been stated, agreed, or instructed.
   - Simple: Following the rules, a plan, or what someone has said.
   - _Per the updated policy, employees may work from home twice a week._
   - _The shipment was prepared per the client's detailed specifications._
3. By means of, via, or through a specified route or channel.
   - Simple: By way of, or through, a certain route or method.
   - _The patient must take nothing per os until the anesthetic has fully worn off._
   - _Because she could not stop vomiting, the drug was given per rectum instead._
4. Used to identify the source of a statement or fact, such as a person, publication, or record, much like according to.
   - Simple: Used to show where a piece of news or information comes from, such as a person or report.
   - _The company lost money for a third straight quarter, per its latest earnings report._
   - _Per two people familiar with the talks, the deal could be announced as early as Monday._

## Other meanings

- (pronoun) A gender-neutral third-person singular pronoun, used in place of he or she, or him or her.
- (adjective) A gender-neutral third-person singular possessive adjective, used in place of his or her.

## Origin

From Latin per ("through, during"), which goes back to the Proto-Indo-European root *per. It is a doublet of par.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/per (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).