plural averages
1
: a number that is calculated by adding quantities together and then dividing the total by the number of quantities
The average of 16, 8, and 6 is 10.
Take all these temperatures and find their average.
An average of 2,000 people attended the show each night.
Prices have increased on average about eight percent.
On average, women live longer than men.
(US) He saves on the average about five percent of his income.
2
: a level that is typical of a group, class, or series : a middle point between extremes
His work has been better/worse than average. = His work has been above/below average.
His work has been above the average.
3
baseball
: batting average
1
: calculated by adding quantities together and then dividing by the number of quantities
Take all these temperatures and find the average temperature.
The investment had a higher average return.
The average age of the company's employees is 36.
2
: ordinary or usual
The average woman lives longer than the average man.
Do you know what the average person earns?
an average day
the average American family/home buyer
—often used informally with yourHe's just your average guy. [=he is a typical or ordinary guy]
It wasn't your average snowstorm. [=it was worse than an ordinary snowstorm]
He's not your average salesman. [=he is unusual]
3
a
: not unusually large or small
Sales were about average for the industry on the whole.
b
: not unusually good or bad
Average grades are not good enough to get you into graduate school.
She was an average student.
She thought the performance was just average.
averages; averaged; averaging
1
: to have (a specified number) as an average
The children in that class average four feet in height. [=the average height of the children is 4 feet]
Her daily commute averages 40 minutes. [=the average length of her daily commute is 40 minutes]
We average six calls a day. [=we get six calls a day on average]
2
: to calculate the average of (something)
The teacher averaged the students' grades.
What figure do you get when you average the amount of rainfall for the last three months?
Cite this Entry
“Average.” Merriam-Webster.com Simple Definition, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/simple/average. Accessed 14 Apr. 2026.
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