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

These results have been an outlier from virtually every other major poll in the country, which has shown Netanyahu’s coalition falling below the total required for victory. — Oren Liebermann, CNN Money, 27 Oct. 2026

But as Sportico detailed earlier this year, Khosla is an outlier among his new NFL peers. — Eben Novy-Williams, Sportico.com, 26 Oct. 2026

His name powered on through the eponymous marque, though, and the McLaren F1 of the 1990s is the supercar nonpareil, but an outlier. — Jason Barlow, Robb Report, 24 Oct. 2026

Oman is the outlier, having implemented economic reforms before the war and remaining relatively unscathed by the conflict. — Mohammed Sergie, semafor.com, 23 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1606, in the meaning defined at sense 3b