statistic

noun

sta·tis·tic | \ stə-ˈti-stik

Definition of statistic

1 : a single term or datum in a collection of statistics

2a : a quantity (such as the mean of a sample) that is computed from a sample specifically : estimate sense 1b

b : a random variable that takes on the possible values of a statistic

Examples of statistic in a Sentence

One statistic that stuck out is that 40 percent of those surveyed did not have college degrees.

Recent Examples on the Web

The prescription drug epidemic has taken more than 200,000 lives via overdoses since 1999, according to federal statistics. — Anchorage Daily News, "Purdue Pharma reaches tentative settlement in federal lawsuit and some state litigation," 11 Sep. 2019 Baltimore is in the midst of yet another violent year, with the homicide count now up to at least 240 reported homicides in 2019, according to statistics compiled by the Baltimore Sun. — Fox News, "Baltimore’s violent weekend sees 7 shot -- 2 fatally -- in 16 hours as homicide count reaches 240," 9 Sep. 2019 The county attorney cited statistics showing that African Americans are disproportionately arrested for marijuana possession compared to white people. — Joe Sonka, The Courier-Journal, "Which marijuana cases will be prosecuted? We get into the weed on new Louisville policy," 28 Aug. 2019 For the past two decades, as automakers delayed fixing the problem, more than 690 children have died in hot cars, according to statistics compiled (pdf) by the advocacy group KidsandCars.org. — Michael J. Coren, Quartz, "As sensor prices drop, carmakers may finally run out of excuses for not dealing with hot-car deaths," 28 Aug. 2019 When combined the two funding mechanisms can support up to 45 percent of the cost to build an affordable rental project, according to CHFA statistics. — Joe Rubino, The Denver Post, "Colorado’s affordable housing war chest will grow by millions in the coming years. Will it be enough?," 25 Aug. 2019 In the first half of 2019, according to CII statistics, 26 percent of IPOs had unequal class share structure. — Ellen Florian, Fortune, "Here’s Why WeWork Won’t be in the S&P 500 After its IPO," 20 Aug. 2019 The county registrar of voters released new statistics early that morning showing that Orange County is now home to 547,458 registered Democrats, compared with 547,369 Republicans. — Julia Wick, Los Angeles Times, "Newsletter: Orange County officially has more Democrats than Republicans," 8 Aug. 2019 There are no official statistics showing exactly how many North Koreans have fled their country, which is home to about 25 million people. — Ivana Kottasová, CNN, "Mysterious heat spot in Korean border river turned out to be a defector," 1 Aug. 2019

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