per an|num /pər æ nəm/ ADV A particular amount per annum means that amount each year. □ …a fee of £35 per annum. □ Kenya's population is growing at 4.1 per cent per annum.
per capi|ta /pə r kæ p I tə/ ADJ [ADJ n] The per capita amount of something is the total amount of it in a country or area divided by the number of people in that country or area. □ They have the world's largest per capita income. ● ADV [n ADV ] Per capita is also an adverb. □ Ethiopia has almost the lowest oil consumption per capita in the world.
per|ceive /pə r siː v/ (perceives , perceiving , perceived )
1 VERB If you perceive something, you see, notice, or realize it, especially when it is not obvious. □ [V n] Many young people do not perceive the need to consider pensions at all.
2 VERB If you perceive someone or something as doing or being a particular thing, it is your opinion that they do this thing or that they are that thing. □ [V n + as ] Stress is widely perceived as contributing to coronary heart disease.
per cent ◆◆◆ /pə r se nt/ (per cent ) also percent N‑COUNT [num N ] You use per cent to talk about amounts. For example, if an amount is 10 per cent (10%) of a larger amount, it is equal to 10 hundredths of the larger amount. □ [+ of ] 20 to 40 per cent of the voters are undecided. □ We aim to increase sales by 10 per cent. ● ADJ [ADJ n] Per cent is also an adjective. □ There has been a ten per cent increase in the number of new students. ● ADV [ADV with v] Per cent is also an adverb. □ …its prediction that house prices will fall 5 per cent over the year.
per|cent|age ◆◇◇ /pə r se nt I dʒ/ (percentages ) N‑COUNT A percentage is a fraction of an amount expressed as a particular number of hundredths of that amount. □ [+ of ] Only a few vegetable-origin foods have such a high percentage of protein.
per|cep|tible /pə r se pt I b ə l/ ADJ Something that is perceptible can only just be seen or noticed. □ Pasternak gave him a barely perceptible smile. ● per|cep|tibly /pə r se pt I bli/ ADV [ADV with v] □ The tension was mounting perceptibly.
per|cep|tion /pə r se pʃ ə n/ (perceptions )
1 N‑COUNT [usu poss N ] Your perception of something is the way that you think about it or the impression you have of it. □ [+ of ] He is interested in how our perceptions of death affect the way we live.
2 N‑UNCOUNT Someone who has perception realizes or notices things that are not obvious. □ It did not require a great deal of perception to realise the interview was over.
3 N‑COUNT Perception is the recognition of things using your senses, especially the sense of sight.
per|cep|tive /pə r se pt I v/ ADJ If you describe a person or their remarks or thoughts as perceptive , you think that they are good at noticing or realizing things, especially things that are not obvious. [APPROVAL ] □ He was one of the most perceptive U.S. political commentators. ● per|cep|tive|ly ADV [usu ADV with v, oft ADV adj] □ The stages in her love affair with Harry are perceptively written.
per|cep|tual /pə r se ptʃuəl/ ADJ [ADJ n] Perceptual means relating to the way people interpret and understand what they see or notice. [FORMAL ] □ Some children have more finely trained perceptual skills than others.
perch /pɜː r tʃ/ (perches , perching , perched ) The form perch is used for both the singular and plural in meaning 8 . 1 VERB If you perch on something, you sit down lightly on the very edge or tip of it. □ [V prep/adv] He perched on the corner of the desk. □ [V pron-refl prep/adv] He perched himself on the side of the bed. ● perched ADJ □ She was perched on the edge of the sofa.
2 VERB To perch somewhere means to be on the top or edge of something. □ [V prep/adv] …the vast slums that perch precariously on top of the hills around which the city was built. ● perched ADJ □ St. John's is a small college perched high up in the hills.
3 VERB If you perch something on something else, you put or balance it on the top or edge of that thing. □ [V n + on ] The builders have perched a light concrete dome on eight slender columns.
4 VERB When a bird perches on something such as a branch or a wall, it lands on it and stands there. □ [V prep] A blackbird flew down and perched on the parapet outside his window.
5 N‑COUNT A perch is a short rod for a bird to stand on.
6 N‑COUNT A perch is an edible fish. There are several kinds of perch.
per|chance /pə r tʃɑː ns, -tʃæ ns/ ADV Perchance means perhaps . [LITERARY , OLD-FASHIONED ]
per|co|late /pɜː r kəle I t/ (percolates , percolating , percolated )
1 VERB If an idea, feeling, or piece of information percolates through a group of people or a thing, it spreads slowly through the group or thing. □ [V prep/adv] New fashions took a long time to percolate down. □ [V prep/adv] …all of these thoughts percolated through my mind. ● per|co|la|tion /pɜː r kəle I ʃ ə n/ N‑UNCOUNT □ [+ of ] There is no percolation of political ideas from the membership to the leadership.
2 VERB When you percolate coffee or when coffee percolates , you prepare it in a percolator. □ [V n] She percolated the coffee and put croissants in the oven to warm. [Also V ]