quintile
noun
quin·tile
ˈkwin-ˌtī(-ə)l 
: any of the four values that divide the items of a frequency distribution into five classes with each containing one fifth of the total population
also
: any one of the five classes
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Breaking Down the Meaning of Quintile
Many people have a deep interest in statistics about themselves, whether the information provided is about income, ice-cream consumption, or trash production. And any such rating can be divided into fifths, or quintiles. The fifth or lowest quintile would include the 20 percent of the population who make the least money or eat the least ice cream or generate the least trash, and the first quintile would include the 20 percent who make, eat, or generate the most.
Examples of quintile in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
All the way up to the 5th quintile, none of whom rely on Social Security for 90% or more of their income in retirement.
—
Mike Sylvester, Forbes.com, 21 May 2025
For people in the top quintile of the income spectrum, the total gains in 2026 are more than $468,000.
—Tobias Burns, The Hill, 16 May 2025
The researchers then divided the participants into five roughly equal parts called quintiles, according to their levels of each biomarker, and compared the risk of major cardiovascular events among those in the highest quintile against those in the lowest.
—Brenda Goodman, CNN, 31 Aug. 2024
The middle quintile, those making $80,000 yearly, paid 13% of their income.
—Ryan Ellis, Boston Herald, 12 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for quintile
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Mike Sylvester, Forbes.com, 21 May 2025
For people in the top quintile of the income spectrum, the total gains in 2026 are more than $468,000.
—Tobias Burns, The Hill, 16 May 2025
The researchers then divided the participants into five roughly equal parts called quintiles, according to their levels of each biomarker, and compared the risk of major cardiovascular events among those in the highest quintile against those in the lowest.
—Brenda Goodman, CNN, 31 Aug. 2024
The middle quintile, those making $80,000 yearly, paid 13% of their income.
—Ryan Ellis, Boston Herald, 12 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for quintile
Cite this Entry
“Quintile.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quintile. Accessed 6 Jun. 2025.
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