outlier

noun

out·​li·​er ˈau̇t-ˌlī(-ə)r 

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 geologic 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

: 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.

b

: a person or thing that is atypical within a particular group, class, or category

She was an outlier when she launched her cruelty-free, sustainably minded brand in 2001, but has found the centre of gravity shifting in her direction.

—Jess Cartner-Morley

Among the world's wealthy nations, the United States is an outlier on this issue: Americans have the lowest national minimum wage, relative to the median wage, of any of the wealthy nations represented in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

—Christopher Ingraham

Examples of outlier in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The FuelCell Rebel v5 ($145, style code MFCX9HM) is an outlier in more ways than one, as the only performance sneaker of the pack uses a Pearl Gray/Dusk Shower/Blue Bird combination and forgoes the gum rubber seen on the other models. —Riley Jones, Footwear News, 28 Jan. 2026

To get a sense of how much of an outlier the company has become, consider that every member of the Magnificent Seven has seen their price target rise over the past year — but only Tesla’s profit estimates have deteriorated simultaneously. —Bloomberg, Mercury News, 27 Jan. 2026

Spain has largely remained an outlier in Europe, seeing immigration as a way to boost the country’s economy. —Pau Mosquera, CNN Money, 27 Jan. 2026

Narrative is one thing, but the facts are another — is this season really an outlier? —Mark Carey, New York Times, 26 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1606, in the meaning defined at sense 3b