percentage meaning

percentage means 'a part or share of a whole, expressed in hundredths'.

percentage :

portion, share

noun

▪ A large percentage of people like ice cream.

▪ A big part of people like ice cream.

▪ The percentage of rain is high today.

▪ The chance of rain is high today.

paraphrasing

▪ ratio – portion

▪ fraction – share

▪ proportion – part

▪ segment – section

percentage

Pronunciation

percentage [pərˈsɛntɪdʒ]

The stress is on 'cent' and sounds like 'per-sen-tij'.

Common phrases and grammar about percentage

percentage - Common meaning

noun
portion, share

Part of Speech Changes for "percentage"

▪ percent (adjective) – out of 100

▪ percentagewise (adverb) – in terms of percentage

Common Expressions with "percentage"

▪ high percentage – large portion

▪ low percentage – small portion

▪ percentage increase – rise in portion

▪ percentage decrease – drop in portion

Important examples of percentage in TOEIC

Vocabulary examples from the TOEIC test

In TOEIC vocabulary questions, percentage is often used to describe parts of statistics or data.

▪The percentage of sales increased this year.
▪The part of sales went up this year.

Example of a confusing word: proportion (a part or share)

▪The proportion of sales increased this year.
▪The share of sales went up this year.
"Percentage" refers to a specific numerical representation out of 100, often used in statistical contexts to express data changes, such as "the percentage of sales increased." While "proportion" can also refer to a part or share of a whole, it is not as specific as "percentage" and does not inherently imply a numerical value out of 100. In this context, using "proportion" might be semantically related but lacks the precision that "percentage" provides. Therefore, "percentage" is the correct choice here.

Grammar examples from the TOEIC test

In TOEIC grammar questions, percentage is used as a noun, often needing a verb that agrees with it.

▪A high percentage of students are happy.
▪A large part of students are happy.

percentage

Idioms and fixed expressions in TOEIC

percentage point

'unit of percentage', used to show change in percentage.

▪The interest rate rose by two percentage points.
▪The interest rate went up by two units of percentage.

percentage game

means 'a situation where one plays the odds'.

▪He played the percentage game to win.
▪He took a chance to win.

Differences between similar words and percentage

percentage

,

ratio

differences

Percentage is a part out of 100, while ratio is a relation between two numbers.

percentage
▪The percentage of students passing is 80%.
▪The part of students passing is 80 out of 100.
ratio
▪The ratio of boys to girls is 2:1.
▪The relation of boys to girls is 2 to 1.

percentage

,

fraction

differences

Percentage is a part out of 100, while fraction is a part of a whole.

percentage
▪The percentage of correct answers is 75%.
▪The part of correct answers is 3 out of 4.
fraction
▪The fraction of correct answers is 3/4.
▪The part of correct answers is 3 out of 4.

Words with the same origin as percentage

The origin of percentage

The word percentage comes from the Latin 'per centum', meaning 'by the hundred'.

Word structure

It has the prefix per (by), root cent (hundred), and suffix age (noun), meaning 'by the hundred'.

Words with the same origin

The root of percentage is cent (hundred). Words with the same root include cent (coin), century (100 years), centennial (100th anniversary).

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