average

1 of 2

adjective

1

: equaling an arithmetic mean

2

a

: being about midway between extremes

a man of average height

b

: not out of the ordinary : common

on an average day

the average person

averagely adverb

averageness noun

averageness

2 of 2

noun

av·​er·​age·​ness

ˈa-v(ə-)rij-nəs

plural -es

: the quality or state of being average

—often used to imply mediocrity or ordinariness

Did you know?

The word average came into English from Middle French avarie, a derivative of an Arabic word meaning “damaged merchandise.” Avarie originally meant damage sustained by a ship or its cargo, but came to mean the expenses of such damage. When the English borrowed the word, they altered it to conform to the pattern of words ending in -age. When a ship or its cargo was damaged at sea, the owners or insurers shared the expense, or average. An average-adjuster determined a division of costs among them. An average then became any equal distribution or division, like the determination of an arithmetic mean. Soon the arithmetic mean itself was called an average. Now the word may be applied to any mean or middle value or level.

Synonyms of average

Adjective

• median

Examples of average in a Sentence

Adjective

Take all these temperatures and find their average temperature.

The investment had a higher average return.

The average age of the company's employees is 36.

The average woman lives longer than the average man.

Do you know what the average person earns?

the average American family buyer

Sales were about average for the industry on the whole.

Average grades are not good enough to get you into graduate school.

She was an average student.

She thought the performance was just average.

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

The average price per square foot was $724. —Bay Area Home Report, Mercury News, 9 June 2026

Bountiful sunshine, light winds, and low humidity levels suggest temperatures running warmer than average. —Ron Smiley, CBS News, 8 June 2026

Some are seasonally inappropriate—for instance, winter puffers in a city where the temperature rarely falls below 77 degrees Fahrenheit—or cut for oversized Western silhouettes that dwarf the average Ghanaian body. —Jasmin Malik Chua, Footwear News, 8 June 2026

Each Noah device is priced just under $500, with an average annual water rate of $22 per unit in Illinois, which covers the cost of running water every three hours. —Christiana Freitag, Chicago Tribune, 8 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

First Known Use

Adjective

1746, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing average

• arithmetic average
• average/normal/general/usual run of
• average out
• average out to
• batting average
• Dow Jones average
• earned run average
• grade point average
• on average
• on the average
• quality point average
• slugging average
• sub-average
• un-average

Kids Definition

average

1 of 3 noun

av·​er·​age ˈav-(ə-)rij 

1

: arithmetic mean

2

: a level typical of a group, class, or series

their work is above the average

3

: a ratio of successful tries to total tries

batting average

average

2 of 3 adjective

1

: equaling or close to an arithmetic mean

2

: being ordinary or usual

the average person

an average day

averagely adverb

averageness noun

average

3 of 3 verb

averaged; averaging

1

: to amount to on the average

they average four feet in height

2

: to do or get usually

she averaged 40 miles a day

3

: to find the average of

average the grades