Meaning & use

percentile

noun·Academic

A value on a scale showing the percentage of a data set that falls below it.

See it in a sentence

Scoring in the 90th percentile means the student did better than 90 percent of test takers.

The baby's weight fell in the 60th percentile for her age group.

A note on using this word

Percentiles are widely used in test scores, growth charts, and statistics to show relative standing rather than raw values.

Words with a similar meaning

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