percentage

noun

pur-SEN-tij/pə(ɹ)ˈsɛntɪd͡ʒ/

Pluralpercentages

3 meanings of percentage

1
nouncountable
An amount, number, or rate of something seen as part of a total of 100; a portion of a whole.
A large percentage of the graduating class found work within six months.
The percentage of voters under thirty rose sharply in this election.
Similarproportion, share, fraction, portion, percent
2
nouncountable
A share of the sales, profits, or gross margin that someone receives.
The agent takes a percentage of every deal she closes.
He works on commission, earning a percentage of total sales.
Similarcut, commission, share
3
nouncolloquialuncountable
Benefit or advantage to be gained from a course of action.
There's no percentage in arguing with the referee over a clear call.
She couldn't see any percentage in staying at the dead-end job.
Similarpoint, advantage, benefit, profit, sense

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of percentage apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

This comes from percent, from the Latin per centum ("for every hundred"), combined with the suffix -age, which indicates a rate.