average
average Lexical Profile
average Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Calculated by dividing the sum of a set of values by the total number of values in the set.
"The average temperature in July has risen noticeably over the past decade."
Typical, normal, or usual in amount, quality, or degree.
"An average workday at the firm involves several client meetings and hours of research."
Mediocre or unexceptional; of only moderate quality.
"Critics described the restaurant's new menu as merely average despite the high prices."
• noun
A number expressing the central or typical value in a set of data, specifically the arithmetic mean calculated by dividing the sum of the values by their total count.
"To find the student's final grade, the teacher calculated the average of all five exam scores."
A standard or level considered to be typical, normal, or ordinary.
"Annual rainfall in the valley was well below the seasonal average this year."
In maritime law, financial loss or damage sustained by a ship or its cargo at sea, or the equitable distribution of such loss among the interested parties.
"The marine insurance policy included a standard clause covering general average in the event of jettisoned cargo."
• verb
To achieve or amount to a specified typical value or rate over a period of time.
"The delivery trucks averaged fifty miles per hour along the mountain highway."
To calculate or estimate the arithmetic mean of a set of numbers or quantities.
"Economists averaged the quarterly figures to determine the annual growth rate."
Word Nuance & Usage
In statistics, 'average' most commonly refers to the arithmetic mean, though it can also encompass the median and mode; in everyday usage, however, it often carries a slightly dismissive connotation of mediocrity.
• Rhymes for average
Word Origin & Etymology
Originally a late 15th-century maritime trade term borrowed from Old French avarie and ultimately Arabic 'awariya ('damaged goods'), it initially referred to financial loss from damaged cargo shared equally among merchants, which gradually evolved into the mathematical sense of an equal distribution or mean.