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 three outliers in September were On Running, Steve Madden, and Ugg. — Vicki M. Young, Footwear News, 13 Oct. 2026

The outliers include Roman Reigns, who got his start in Florida Championship Wrestling, which came before NXT was founded, and CM Punk, who made his mark outside the WWE before making his way to WWE’s Ohio Valley Wrestling. — Ryan Gaydos Outkick, FOXNews.com, 10 Oct. 2026

And there, a young man, leaning back, farthest out, an outlier, an easy target? — Literary Hub, 9 Oct. 2026

Madison has made a smart choice for her biggest role since bagging an Oscar for Anora; her character’s trajectory from Facebook believer through disillusioned outlier to courageous whistleblower is stirringly rendered. — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 7 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1606, in the meaning defined at sense 3b