twenty percent
20
1.0
- noun
- /ˈtwɛnti pərˈsɛnt/
:
veinte por ciento
- According to the latest survey, twenty percent of voters are still undecided about the election.
- twenty percent tax
- twenty percent tax credit
- twenty percent increase
Examples
-
You've both been so helpful, I'm giving you a twenty percent discount.
Fiction book (1999) -
Mr. Harris, we know you've purchased at least twenty percent of our stock.
Fiction book (1990) -
In fact, fewer than twenty percent of cases in Canada are tried with a jury.
Academic text (1999) -
Twenty percent of that is yours if you stick with it.
-
For example, the federal government allows a twenty percent tax credit for individuals investing in a fund.
Academic text (1996) -
Every year, about twenty percent of students fail, while about ten percent excel.
Academic text (2003) -
Mall merchants reported a twenty percent increase in traffic during a difficult economic time.
Academic text (1993) -
Twenty percent of all Cubans are permanently unemployed.
-
By implication, approximately twenty percent of the pollutant did emanate from other states.
Academic text (1996) -
The charity campaign aims to raise twenty percent of its funds through local donations.
Synonyms
30
1.0
One of five equal parts of something
17
1.1
One of five equal parts of a whole
One of five equal parts of a whole
How Much
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly compositional: 'twenty' supplies the quantity and 'percent' denotes 'per hundred', so together they unambiguously mean 20 out of 100. This numeric + unit pattern is cross-linguistically common and follows regular English composition, so a B1 learner who knows both words will understand it.
Etymology
Twenty percent comes from the simple idea that percent means 'for every one hundred' and twenty is the number twenty. Imagine 100 people and 20 raise their hands, twenty percent is those 20 people, so it means '20%' or 'twenty out of one hundred' of the whole.