Definition of datum
1 plural dataplay play \-ə\ : 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
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Is data singular or plural?
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.
Examples of datum in a Sentence
let's begin our discussion of this matter with a datum from actual experience
Recent Examples of datum from the Web
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Hundreds of treaties on matters ranging from air transport to data sharing must be renegotiated with third countries.
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The VPN crackdown coincides with a Cybersecurity Law that took effect on June 1 and tightens control over data.
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However, the monthly employment figure produced by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) does not contain specific data about part-time employment.
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Based on 168 countries reporting data, the overall bottom line for the world was 70-77-82 in 2016.
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A good percentage of Gwinnett County public school students scored in the top categories of the Georgia Milestones exams, according to data released Thursday.
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But the CDC database will be updated monthly, Gill said, allowing health officials and policymakers to keep abreast of the data.
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The Electronic Privacy Information Center’s July 3 lawsuit alleges that, if fulfilled, the request and the commission’s shoddy data practices would amount to a massive breach of privacy.
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Seemingly designed as more of a marketing ploy than an actual money-maker, Amazon’s objective is to capture even more data on how people buy online and pick up in store, said Yoram Wurmser, retail analyst at eMarketer.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'datum.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of datum
Latin, from neuter of datus
Other Mathematics and Statistics Terms
DATUM Defined for English Language Learners
DATUM Defined for Kids
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See words that rhyme with datum Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for datum Spanish Central: Translation of datum Nglish: Translation of datum for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of datum for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about datum
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