percent

/pəˈsɛnt/

//pəˈsɛnt// adv

"percent" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“percent” has 11 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #974. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#974
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
11
tracked misspellings
3
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 2, 2026) - For every hundred (used with preceding numeral to form a noun phrase expressing a proportion).

Corpus desk

Index EN-percent · percent · English

percent · rank #974 · 11 variants · 3 confusables

  • FREQ-CORE #974
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-2 2 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 3 pairs
  • VAR-MID 11 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH note

Nearest frequency peer: note (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Frequency neighbourhood for “percent”

Lower corpus rank = more everyday usage (inverted bar length for readability)

corpus weight

What this shows Bars show where “percent” sits against the nearest ranked English headwords in the FrequencyWords band, not a reprint of letter-browse containment.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 2, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

percent vs perfect
71% similar
percent vs pervert
71% similar
percent vs parent
71% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for percent
PropertyValue
Headwordpercent
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechAdverb
IPA/pəˈsɛnt/
Letters7
Frequency rank#974
Misspellings tracked11
Confusable pairs3
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “percent” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). percent lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 11 spelling variants around percent (IPA /pəˈsɛnt/), anadverb. Corpus frequency is #974 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Dominant gloss: "For every hundred (used with preceding numeral to form a noun phrase expressing a proportion).".

Our generated misspelling index lists 11 likely wrong-spelling variants for percent, with forms such as "eprcent", "pecrent", and "perccent". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 3 confusable-pair relationships, "perfect", "pervert", "parent", where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From New Latin per centum (“by the hundred”). The correct English form is percent, spelled P-E-R-C-E-N-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    For every hundred (used with preceding numeral to form a noun phrase expressing a proportion).

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how percent appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Diane Watson has had a distinguished career in education and politics, and last year was elected to the House of Representatives, winning 75 percent of the vote in her Congressional district.
  2. In Sichuan the rates were much higher. In Kaixian county, a close examination by a team sent by the provincial party committee at the time concluded that in Fengle commune, where 17 per cent of the population had perished in less than a year, up to 65 per cent of the victims had died because they were beaten, punished with food deprivation or forced into…

Etymology

From New Latin per centum (“by the hundred”).

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • eprcent
  • pecrent
  • perccent
  • percennt
  • percentt
  • percetn
  • percnet
  • perecnt
  • perrcent
  • ppercent
  • precent

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of percent - counted as single-character edits (an insertion, a deletion, or a substituted letter). The larger the bar, the easier the typo is to spot; one-edit slips are the ones that sneak past readers.

eprcent2pecrent2perccent1percennt1percentt1percetn2percnet2perecnt2
Edit distance from "percent"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

PlainSpell is rendered directly from structured Wiktionary extracts and open word-frequency lists, no number is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of September 2, 2026. Primary sources: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) and FrequencyWords.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "percent"?
"percent" is spelled P-E-R-C-E-N-T. The IPA pronunciation is /pəˈsɛnt/.
What does "percent" mean?
As an adverb, "percent" means: For every hundred (used with preceding numeral to form a noun phrase expressing a proportion).
What words are commonly confused with "percent"?
"percent" is commonly confused with "perfect", "pervert", "parent". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "percent"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "percent" is /pəˈsɛnt/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "percent"?
From New Latin per centum (“by the hundred”). See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "percent", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 7 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (11 here; floor ≥5).

What to do next

You've looked up "percent". Here's where to go from here.

  • "percent" maps to 3 confusable pairs in this vintage; the highest-scored is "perfect". View pair
  • 11 edit-distance misspelling variants are generated for spell-check research on this headword. See variants
  • Usage frequency rank #974 among English headwords in this corpus. Corpus statistics
  • Browse more English words in the "P" letter cohort. P–Z browse

PlainSpell is a reference corpus, not spelling advice. Verify unusual forms in context.

Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list