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

In a sea of gray-toned suits and uniforms, the woman trying to soothe her crying baby comes across as an outlier even before a belligerent young salaryman starts screaming at her for disturbing the peace. —Alison Willmore, Vulture, 8 Apr. 2026

Citigroup is an outlier in market expectations. —Jeff Cox, CNBC, 8 Apr. 2026

Finally, the Bengals have a challenge in trying to sign Turner and Hill long-term and a history of not spending on two players at that same position (Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins are rare outliers). —Paul Dehner Jr, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2026

Over a longer period, however, the state does appear to be an outlier, with the 15th-highest growth rate since 2015 and second-highest since 2010. —Nick Coltrain, Denver Post, 5 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1606, in the meaning defined at sense 3b