outlier

play

noun out·li·er \ˈau̇t-ˌlī(-ə)r\

Definition of outlier

1 : a person whose residence and place of business are at a distance His house was a place of refuge for outliers.
2 : something (such as a geological feature) that is situated away from or classed differently from a main or related body The island is an outlier on the southeast side of the archipelago.
3 : a statistical observation that is markedly different in value from the others of the sample Values that are outliers give disproportionate weight to larger over smaller values.

Recent Examples of outlier from the Web

And Macron on Thursday released a video address to the American people asserting that Trump is an outlier against American greatness, despite his own political mantra.

— hilary clarke, CNN, "France taunts US by editing White House video on climate deal", 3 June 2017
Suddenly, Mr. Mattis found himself as a representative of an outlier nation — at least in the eyes of many of the Asian officials and international policy experts who filled a packed hall here.

— michael r. gordon, New York Times, "Mattis Beseeches Officials at Singapore Conference to ‘Bear With Us’", 2 June 2017
There are movements in neighboring states to boost the hourly minimum wage, so take heart because Illinois may not always be a Midwestern outlier.

— robert reed, chicagotribune.com, "Why Rauner should sign the minimum wage bill: It's good for business", 1 June 2017
The federal agency asks police departments to submit a uniform crime report every month, and while the majority comply, there are a few outliers who don't.

— patrick cooley, cleveland.com, "What makes a city safe? These 11 Greater Cleveland communities are ranked among the safest in Ohio", 31 May 2017
While the policy extends back to the Jim Crow era and makes Florida an outlier nationally, there have been efforts to make the process easier.

— amy sherman, miamiherald, "Driving with suspended license can lead to loss of voting rights for felon, advocate says", 30 May 2017
The barrage of media queries came as the 43rd Group of Seven summit in Sicily ended with the U.S. president as an outlier.

— josh wingrove, Bloomberg.com, "Trudeau Treads Carefully With Trump as Nafta Clock Ticks", 29 May 2017
His .293 BABIP is neither an outlier nor unsustainable.

— michael beller, SI.com, "Jose Quintana's numbers are down, but he's still a valuable trade chip", 29 May 2017
A dynasty, Cashman acknowledged, is always an outlier, a rare confluence of so many factors, especially luck.

— tyler kepner, New York Times, "Can This Man Revive the Yankees?", 10 Apr. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'outlier'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

1677