percentage

noun

pur-SEN-tij/pə(ɹ)ˈsɛntɪd͡ʒ/

Pluralpercentages

3 meanings of percentage

1
nouncountable
A part of a whole, counted as a number out of 100.
If you cut a cake into 100 pieces, a percentage tells you how many of those pieces you have.
A small percentage of the apples in the box were bad.
What percentage of your money do you save each month?
Similarproportion, share, fraction, portion, percent
2
nouncountable
A part of the money made from sales or profits that someone gets.
Like a waiter who keeps part of every bill as a tip.
She earns a small percentage of every sale she makes.
The store owner pays each seller a percentage of the profit.
Similarcut, commission, share
3
nouncolloquialuncountable
A good reason or gain you get from doing something.
Like asking yourself, "What do I get out of this?"
There's no percentage in worrying about things you can't change.
He saw little percentage in waiting around any longer.
Similarpoint, advantage, benefit, profit, sense

Practice

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Origin

From percent, which comes from Latin per centum meaning "for every hundred," plus the ending -age.