percentile
per-SEN-tyle
/pərˈsentaɪl/
A value on a scale of 100 that indicates the percentage of scores that fall at or below a given score.
Ranks relative position within a norm group, not the raw percentage of questions answered correctly.
The story behind the word. Coined in the late 19th century by British polymath Sir Francis Galton while developing modern statistical methods to describe relative rankings in populations.
Word relationships
- quartile: Quartile divides data into 4 equal parts, while percentile divides into 100 parts.
- decile: Decile divides data into 10 equal parts.
Commonly confused with
- percentage: Percentage measures proportion out of 100 (e.g., 85/100 correct), while percentile measures relative rank among peers.
Word family
- percentile-based (adjective): Determined by percentile ranking.
Collocations
- 90th percentile
- percentile rank
- percentile score
- fall into a percentile
Example sentences
- "Scoring in the 95th percentile means a student performed equal to or better than 95 percent of all test takers." Score interpretation
- "Graduate admissions boards often require applicants to rank in the 80th percentile or higher on the quantitative section." Graduate admissions
Memory hook
PER-CENT-ILE: ranking PER CENT (out of 100 people). Your spot in a line of 100 people.
When not to use
Do not confuse with 'percentage'; getting 80% of questions right is not the same as scoring in the 80th percentile.
Fun facts
- Sir Francis Galton introduced percentiles to measure human height and intelligence distributions, laying the groundwork for modern psychometrics.
Related words
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