percent sign
- noun
- /pərˈsɛnt saɪn/
:
signo de porcentaje
- You need to add a percent sign after the number.
Examples
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On the label, the percent sign follows the number showing the daily value.
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Please write the answer using a percent sign instead of the word 'percent'.
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The percent sign is commonly used in mathematics to indicate percentages.
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The percent sign is commonly used in mathematics.
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In mathematics, the percent sign % is used to express a number as a fraction of 100.
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You need to add a percent sign % after the number to indicate that it represents a proportion out of 100.
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To show that 50 out of 100 people approved, you would write 50%.
Synonyms
A symbol % that shows a number out of 100
How Informative
Surface Forms
Morphology
The noun phrase is compositionally built from 'percent' (a ratio per hundred) + 'sign' (a symbol), so a learner who knows both words can infer it denotes the symbol that marks percentages. This pattern is straightforward and cross-linguistically common, making the meaning immediately accessible to a B1 learner.
Etymology
The symbol percent sign comes from a quick way to write per and hundred. People used to write 'per 100' with a slash between the '1' and the two zeros, and over time the '1' and the zeros became the slanted line and the two dots we now draw as '%', so the mark still shows 'per hundred'.