percent
/pɚˈsɛnt/adverb, noun, prepositional phrase
percent is spelled P-E-R-C-E-N-T: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 110 times per million words in written English, the 972nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “per-cent vs percent” about 1,300 times a month (Google, United States). As an adverb, percent means “For every hundred (used with preceding numeral to form a noun phrase expressing a proportion)” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in percent?
| Letters | 7: P-E-R-C-E-N-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 110 times per million words; the 972nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is percent?
Percent appears 110 times per million words in written English, the 972nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce percent?
- UK /pəˈsɛnt/
- US /pɚˈsɛnt/
- Australia /pəˈsent/
Percent has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-percent.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with percent
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Also written: per-cent (one word or two).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with percent?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as percent from its last stressed vowel (/ɛnt/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of percent
- %
- p. c.
- p.c.
- pc
- pct
- per cent
- percents plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does percent mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
USFor every hundred (used with preceding numeral to form a noun phrase expressing a proportion).
10 percent off all swimwear this week!
noun
- 1
A percentage, a proportion (especially per hundred).
only a small percent attain the top ranks
- 2
One part per hundred; one percent, hundredth.
- 3
The percent sign, %.
- 4
An annuity or security with a certain fixed and guaranteed annual percentage rate of return or percentage dividend.
prepositional phrase
- 1
Per hundred.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
How do you abbreviate percent?
Wiktionary records 2 abbreviations of percent: pc, pct.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Percent in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense a part or other object per hundred:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | pour cent, pourcent |
| German | vom Hundert, Prozent, Perzent |
| Portuguese | por cento |
| Spanish | por ciento |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does percent come from?
From New Latin per centum (“by the hundred”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).