Main Entry: ¹av·er·age

Pronunciation: \ˈa-v(ə-)rij\

Function: noun

Etymology: from earlier average proportionally distributed charge for damage at sea, modification of Middle French avarie damage to ship or cargo, from Old Italian avaria, from Arabic ʽawārīya damaged merchandise

Date: 1732

1 a : a single value (as a mean, mode, or median) that summarizes or represents the general significance of a set of unequal values b : mean 1b
2 a : an estimation of or approximation to an arithmetic mean b : a level (as of intelligence) typical of a group, class, or series <above the average>
3 : a ratio expressing the average performance especially of an athletic team or an athlete computed according to the number of opportunities for successful performance

— on average or on the average : taking the typical example of the group under consideration <prices have increased on average by five percent>

synonyms average, mean, median, norm mean something that represents a middle point. average is the quotient obtained by dividing the sum total of a set of figures by the number of figures <scored an average of 85 on tests>. mean may be the simple average or it may represent value midway between two extremes <a high of 70° and a low of 50° give a mean of 60°>. median applies to the value that represents the point at which there are as many instances above as there are below <average of a group of persons earning 3, 4, 5, 8, and 10 dollars an hour is 6 dollars, whereas the median is 5 dollars>. norm means the average of performance of a significantly large group, class, or grade <scores about the norm for fifth grade arithmetic>.