per cent

Universal Words (especially BrE) (AmE usually percent) noun, adjective, adverb noun (plural per cent, percent) one part in every hundred: Poor families spend about 80 to 90 per cent of their income on food. * It is often stated that we use only 10 per cent of our brain. * What per cent of the population is / are overweight? adjective, adverb by in or for every hundred: a 15 per cent rise in price * House prices rose five per cent last year. ______________________________ GRAMMARPOINT expressing percentages Percentages (= numbers of per cent) are written in words as twenty-five per cent and in figures as 25%. If a percentage is used with an uncountable or a singular noun the verb is generally singular: 90% of the land is cultivated. If the noun is singular but represents a group of people, the verb is singular in AmE but in BrE it may be singular or plural: Eighty per cent of the work force is/are against the strike. If the noun is plural, the verb is plural: 65% of children play computer games. ______________________________