a half of percent

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "a half of percent" is not correct in standard written English.
The correct expression is "half a percent." Example: "The interest rate increased by half a percent this year."

⚠ May contain grammatical issues

News & Media

Science

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

1 human-written examples

In many states, automatic recounts are required when the margin of victory is small, such as a half of percent or less.

Huffington Post

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

55 human-written examples

The rewards aren't huge — a half of one percent for amounts up to $100, and one percent for amounts over that.

The New York Times

While their market share is small, about a half of a percent, Mr. Oda, Mr. Baird and Mr. Kiuchi all see growth potential for one big reason: the overwhelming majority of people drinking craft beers, especially the new ones, are younger than 40.

The New York Times - Travel

The number of rangeland livestock lost each year to carnivore depredations is insignificant less than a half of a percent, according to the Department of Agriculture.

Vice

On September 8 , 2011 the North Pole's ice cover shrank to 1.64 million square miles or about a half of a percent beneath the record low set in September 2007 according to the University of Bremen's Institute of Environmental Physics.

Huffington Post

I told them: "Nigel Farage is throwing fish into the Thames to show he is against extending by 18 months an agreement we've had for 44 years for an industry that comprises less than a half of a percent of UK GDP".

Vice

We've seen the U.S. budget deficit go from ten and a half percent of GDP to four percent of GDP in a much faster frame of time than anybody could have thought.

Huffington Post

"Around one-and-a-half percent of the total US healthcare budget is spent on sarcopenia-related issues", he said.

BBC

Two and a half percent of EACA was added in the water of the mice two days prior to the operation and it was changed daily.

BMC Cancer

It would be tough, then, to squeeze more than a half percent of G.D.P. from spending by 2015.

The New York Times

"One and a half percent of U.S. mail is currently generated by their processing," says Nancy Tubbs, the Intuit director of marketing who's no doubt hoping to translate this market share onto the web.

Forbes

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Always use the grammatically correct form "half a percent" or "one half of a percent" in formal writing. For numerical data, "0.5 percent" is the preferred option.

Common error

Avoid using the phrase "a half of percent". It's grammatically incorrect. Use "half a percent" or "one half of a percent" instead. This ensures clarity and grammatical accuracy.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "a half of percent" functions as a noun phrase attempting to quantify a proportion. However, according to Ludwig, this particular phrasing is grammatically incorrect. It aims to describe a small percentage but fails to do so accurately.

Expression frequency: Uncommon

Frequent in

News & Media

58%

Science

35%

Formal & Business

0%

Less common in

Encyclopedias

0%

Wiki

0%

Reference

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

The query phrase "a half of percent" is grammatically incorrect; the correct phrasing is "half a percent" or "one half of a percent". While Ludwig provides some examples of its usage, the frequency is still relatively uncommon, and its use is generally discouraged in formal writing. The phrase aims to denote a small proportion but should be corrected to ensure clarity and accuracy. The sources are primarily news and scientific publications. While context is needed to generate the most appropriate substitute, several alternatives exist for replacing this incorrect form.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

half a percent

Reverses the order and changes 'a half of' to 'half a' to fix the grammatical error. It's the most direct correction.

0.5 percent

Uses the decimal representation of one half for expressing percentage.

one half of a percent

Expands "0.5 percent" using words instead of numbers, which changes phrasing and emphasis slightly.

a fraction of a percent

Replaces "half" with "fraction" for a more vague or general implication of smallness in the percentage amount.

less than one percent

Expresses the percentage as being below a specific threshold (1%), indicating a relatively small proportion.

a small percentage

Uses a general term "small percentage" to indicate the percentage is not significant.

a tiny fraction

Replaces "percentage" with "fraction" and uses "tiny" to emphasize very small proportion.

minimal percentage

Uses "minimal" to indicate the percentage is very low or almost negligible.

a negligible amount

Shifts from a percentage to an amount, suggesting that the proportion is insignificant.

an insignificant portion

Uses "insignificant portion" to replace the percentage value. Highlights unimportance.

FAQs

Is it correct to say "a half of percent"?

No, the correct phrasing is "half a percent" or "one half of a percent". The phrasing "a half of percent" is grammatically incorrect.

What's the difference between "half a percent" and "one half of a percent"?

Both phrases are grammatically correct and have the same meaning. "Half a percent" is more concise, while "one half of a percent" is more formal and explicitly spells out the fraction.

When should I use "0.5 percent" instead of "half a percent"?

Use "0.5 percent" in contexts that require numerical precision, such as scientific reports or financial documents. Use "half a percent" in general writing where conveying the approximate proportion is sufficient.

What are some alternative ways to describe a very small percentage other than "half a percent"?

Alternatives include "a small percentage", "a tiny fraction", or "a negligible amount". These options emphasize the insignificance of the portion.