median

1 of 2

noun

me·​di·​an ˈmē-dē-ən 

1

: a medial (see medial sense 2b) part (such as a vein or nerve)

2

a

: a value in an ordered set of values below and above which there is an equal number of values or which is the arithmetic mean of the two middle values if there is no one middle number

b

: a vertical line that divides the histogram of a frequency distribution into two parts of equal area

c

: a value of a random variable for which all greater values make the cumulative distribution function greater than one half and all lesser values make it less than one half

3

a

: a line from a vertex (see vertex sense 2) of a triangle to the midpoint of the opposite side

b

: a line joining the midpoints of the nonparallel sides of a trapezoid (see trapezoid sense 1a)

4

: median strip

median

2 of 2

adjective

1

: being in the middle or in an intermediate position : medial

2

: lying in the plane dividing a bilateral animal into right and left halves

3

: relating to or constituting a statistical median

4

: produced without occlusion along the lengthwise middle line of the tongue

medianly adverb

Did you know?

People often use the word average without realizing that there are two common forms of average. Suppose you want to find the average net worth of a group of people—that is, the average value of everything they possess. To find one type of average, called the mean, you'd simply add up the total value of money and property of everyone in the group and divide it by the number of people. To find the other type, called the median, you'd identify the net worth of the person who is richer than half the people and poorer than the other half. So if Warren Buffett drove through a tiny village in India, the mean net worth of those in the village would suddenly rise to perhaps a billion dollars, but their median net worth would remain close to zero. Which figure would be more meaningful?

Synonyms

Adjective

• average
• intermediate
• mean
• medium
• middle
• middling
• midsize
• midsized
• moderate
• modest

Choose the Right Synonym for median

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

Examples of median in a Sentence

Adjective

What is the median price of homes in this area?

the median price of a home in the area

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Workforce housing rents range from 60% to 140% of the county’s area median income, while affordable housing rents run below the 60% threshold. —Rebecca San Juan, Miami Herald, 13 Apr. 2024

In 2019, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation also installed cable barriers along the median of Interstate 94 between highways 67 and SS in Waukesha County as part of the same safety initiative. —Journal Sentinel, 1 Apr. 2024

And in recent years, the median spends on projects has gone up. —Sarah Yang, Sunset Magazine, 1 Apr. 2024

The Antioch man was ejected into the center median and pronounced dead at the scene, the CHP said. —Harry Harris, The Mercury News, 1 Apr. 2024

According to the Fannie Mae area median income lookup tool, the area median income for Benton County is $92,400; 80% of that is $73,920 and 50% is $46,200. —Campbell Roper, arkansasonline.com, 26 Mar. 2024

The San Francisco Square Apartments will serve seniors earning up to 80% of the area median income. —The Arizona Republic, 31 Mar. 2024

Dane County's median rent hit $1,258 in 2022, compared to the statewide median of $992. —Journal Sentinel, 20 Mar. 2024

Those with home prices near the national median could have cleared about $99,000 in equity, on average, in 2019 (the year the data was gathered). —Kate Ashford Of Nerdwallet, Quartz, 18 Mar. 2024

Adjective

An article last Sunday about members of Generation X looking for homes referred incorrectly to the median income earned by those within this age group. —New York Times, 14 Apr. 2024

In 2012, the median household income for county residents was $36,023, more than $10,000 below the statewide average. —Archer Guanco, Daniel Schoenherr, Detroit Free Press, 11 Apr. 2024

In 2013, middle-rank engineers at Boeing were earning 159% of the median household income for the metro area, the data shows. —Tribune News Service, The Mercury News, 10 Apr. 2024

For those who may want to move out of their mother’s basement, rent has also more than doubled in the past 20 years while the median household income has increased just 10%, per the St. Louis Fed. —Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 9 Apr. 2024

The median income on Karuk trust lands was $24,167 in 2019, according to tribal planning documents, and more than 400 people are on a wait list for housing. —Hannah Wiley, Los Angeles Times, 9 Apr. 2024

The project received federal affordable housing tax credits − a key part of its financing package. Developers that receive tax credits must generally provide at least 85% of a building's apartments at below-market rents to people earning no higher than 60% of the local median income. —Tom Daykin, Journal Sentinel, 5 Apr. 2024

As of 2019, the median income for crew members was somewhere in the vicinity of $20,000, according to a major business publication. —Gary Shteyngart, The Atlantic, 4 Apr. 2024

The median price for a home in the Baltimore metro was $383,900 in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to the National Association of Realtors. —Bryan Mena, CNN, 2 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English mediane, from Late Latin mediana (vena) median (vein), from feminine of Latin medianus in the middle, central, from medius middle — more at mid

Adjective

Latin medianus — see median entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adjective

1592, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing median

• median nerve
• median strip

Kids Definition

median

1 of 2 noun

me·​di·​an ˈmēd-ē-ən 

1

: a value in a series arranged from smallest to largest below and above which there are an equal number of values or which is the average of the two middle values if there is no one middle value

the median of the set 1, 3, 7, 12, 19 is 7 and the median of the set 2, 5, 7, 15 is 6

2

: a line drawn from the vertex of a triangle to the midpoint of the opposite side

median

2 of 2 adjective

1

: being in the middle or in an intermediate position

2

: relating to or making up a median

Etymology

Noun

from Latin mediana vena "median vein (a large vein in the arm)," from earlier Latin medianus "being in the middle," from medius "middle" — related to intermediate, mean entry 3, meridian

Medical Definition

median

1 of 2 noun

me·​di·​an ˈmēd-ē-ən 

1

: a medial part (as a vein or nerve)

2

a

: a value in an ordered set of values below and above which there is an equal number of values or which is the arithmetic mean of the two middle values if there is no one middle number

b

: a vertical line that divides the histogram of a frequency distribution into two parts of equal area

median

2 of 2 adjective

: situated in the middle

specifically : lying in a plane dividing a bilateral animal into right and left halves