datum

noun

da·​tum ˈdā-təm  ˈda- 

ˈdä-

1

plural data ˈdā-tə  ˈda- 

also

ˈdä-  : something given or admitted especially as a basis for reasoning or inference

an important historical datum

This enormous expense—and considerable risk—to pick up a datum or two about geriatrics?

—Charles Krauthammer

2

plural datums, mathematics : something used as a basis for calculating or measuring

measuring the distance between datum points

… make things more efficient for those of us whose work requires a time datum.

—Robert Steinbrunn

Is data singular or plural?: Usage Guide

Data leads a life of its own quite independent of datum, of which it was originally the plural. It occurs in two constructions: as a plural noun (like earnings), taking a plural verb and plural modifiers (such as these, many, a few) but not cardinal numbers, and serving as a referent for plural pronouns (such as they, them); and as an abstract mass noun (like information), taking a singular verb and singular modifiers (such as this, much, little), and being referred to by a singular pronoun (it). Both constructions are standard. The plural construction is more common in print, evidently because the house style of several publishers mandates it.

Synonyms

• detail
• fact
• nicety
• particular
• particularity
• point
• specific

Examples of datum in a Sentence

let's begin our discussion of this matter with a datum from actual experience

Recent Examples on the Web

Still, Chad Topaz, a mathematician at Williams College who was not involved in the study, said the group was able to extract an impressive amount of information despite the data set’s limitations. —Lyndie Chiou, WIRED, 21 Apr. 2024

Upon its first day of release on Friday (April 19), the set sold 1.4 million copies in traditional album sales, according to initial reports to data tracking firm Luminate. —Mitchell Peters, Billboard, 21 Apr. 2024

Machine learning algorithms can analyze vast amounts of data to identify anomalous behavior and potential security breaches in real-time, enabling proactive defense measures. —Nick Kasmik, USA TODAY, 20 Apr. 2024

Most of the data about the political views of young Americans come from surveys of the overall U.S. population. —David Lauter, Los Angeles Times, 20 Apr. 2024

The best part, Massa said, is that because of the variety of locations, NASA gets data on how plants behave in different climates from arid to humid, and different altitudes from Denver’s mountains to Puerto Rico’s seas. —Jimena Tavel, Miami Herald, 20 Apr. 2024

TikTok has argued that the legislation would violate the First Amendment and pointed to their spending $1.5 billion-plus on data privacy efforts to try to allay national security concerns. —Steven T. Dennis, Fortune, 20 Apr. 2024

Both said they hadn’t been convinced that research or data backed the use of such sites, which are open in New York City and have reported zero overdose deaths among drug users at the sites. —Seth Klamann, The Denver Post, 19 Apr. 2024

More current federal data is not available because the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services retired this statistic in 2020 in favor of other measurements. —Brett Kelman and Samantha Liss, USA TODAY, 9 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Latin, from neuter of datus

First Known Use

1646, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing datum

• sense-datum

Kids Definition

datum

noun

da·​tum ˈdāt-əm  ˈdat- 

ˈdät-

plural data -ə  or datums

: something used as a basis for reasoning or arriving at a conclusion or for calculating or measuring