| Learning / English Dictionary |
AVERAGE
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
An intermediate scale value regarded as normal or usual
Example:
the snowfall this month is below average
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("average" is a kind of...):
scale value (a value on some scale of measurement)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A statistic describing the location of a distribution
Example:
it set the norm for American homes
Synonyms:
Classified under:
Nouns denoting cognitive processes and contents
Hypernyms ("average" is a kind of...):
statistic (a datum that can be represented numerically)
Domain category:
statistics (a branch of applied mathematics concerned with the collection and interpretation of quantitative data and the use of probability theory to estimate population parameters)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "average"):
age norm (the average age at which particular performances are expected to appear)
modal value; mode (the most frequent value of a random variable)
median; median value (the number midway between the two middle numbers in a series containing an even or odd number of items)
mean; mean value (an average of n numbers computed by adding some function of the numbers and dividing by some function of n)
Derivation:
average (compute the average of)
average (achieve or reach on average)
average (amount to or come to an average, without loss or gain)
average (approximating the statistical norm or average or expected value)
Sense 3
Meaning:
(sports) the ratio of successful performances to opportunities
Classified under:
Nouns denoting relations between people or things or ideas
Hypernyms ("average" is a kind of...):
ratio (the relative magnitudes of two quantities (usually expressed as a quotient))
Domain category:
athletics; sport (an active diversion requiring physical exertion and competition)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "average"):
batting average; hitting average ((baseball) a measure of a batter's performance; the number of base hits divided by the number of official times at bat)
fielding average ((baseball) a measure of a fielder's performance; the number of assists and putouts divided by the number of chances)
II. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Lacking special distinction, rank, or status; commonly encountered
Example:
the ordinary (or common) man in the street
Synonyms:
average; ordinary
Classified under:
Similar:
common (having no special distinction or quality; widely known or commonly encountered; average or ordinary or usual)
Derivation:
averageness (ordinariness as a consequence of being average and not outstanding)
averageness (the state of being that is average; indicates normality but with connotations of mediocrity)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Around the middle of a scale of evaluation
Example:
medium bombers
Synonyms:
average; intermediate; medium
Classified under:
Similar:
moderate (being within reasonable or average limits; not excessive or extreme)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Approximating the statistical norm or average or expected value
Example:
the mean annual rainfall
Synonyms:
average; mean
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
normal (conforming with or constituting a norm or standard or level or type or social norm; not abnormal)
Domain category:
statistics (a branch of applied mathematics concerned with the collection and interpretation of quantitative data and the use of probability theory to estimate population parameters)
Derivation:
average (a statistic describing the location of a distribution)
averageness (the state of being that is average; indicates normality but with connotations of mediocrity)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Relating to or constituting the middle value of an ordered set of values (or the average of the middle two in a set with an even number of values)
Example:
the median income for the year was $15,000
Synonyms:
average; median
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
normal (conforming with or constituting a norm or standard or level or type or social norm; not abnormal)
Domain category:
statistics (a branch of applied mathematics concerned with the collection and interpretation of quantitative data and the use of probability theory to estimate population parameters)
Sense 5
Meaning:
Relating to or constituting the most frequent value in a distribution
Example:
the modal age at which American novelists reach their peak is 30
Synonyms:
average; modal
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
normal (conforming with or constituting a norm or standard or level or type or social norm; not abnormal)
Domain category:
statistics (a branch of applied mathematics concerned with the collection and interpretation of quantitative data and the use of probability theory to estimate population parameters)
Sense 6
Meaning:
Lacking exceptional quality or ability
Example:
the performance was middling at best
Synonyms:
average; fair; mediocre; middling
Classified under:
Adjectives
Similar:
ordinary (not exceptional in any way especially in quality or ability or size or degree)
Derivation:
averageness (ordinariness as a consequence of being average and not outstanding)
averageness (the state of being that is average; indicates normality but with connotations of mediocrity)
III. (verb)
Verb forms
Present simple: I / you / we / they average ... he / she / it averages
Past simple: averaged
Past participle: averaged
-ing form: averaging
Sense 1
Meaning:
Compute the average of
Synonyms:
average; average out
Classified under:
Verbs of thinking, judging, analyzing, doubting
Hypernyms (to "average" is one way to...):
calculate; cipher; compute; cypher; figure; reckon; work out (make a mathematical calculation or computation)
Domain category:
arithmetic (the branch of pure mathematics dealing with the theory of numerical calculations)
Sentence frame:
Somebody ----s something
Derivation:
average (a statistic describing the location of a distribution)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Achieve or reach on average
Example:
He averaged a C
Classified under:
Verbs of political and social activities and events
Hypernyms (to "average" is one way to...):
accomplish; achieve; attain; reach (to gain with effort)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Derivation:
average (a statistic describing the location of a distribution)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Amount to or come to an average, without loss or gain
Example:
The number of hours I work per work averages out to 40
Synonyms:
average; average out
Classified under:
Verbs of being, having, spatial relations
Hypernyms (to "average" is one way to...):
add up; amount; come; number; total (add up in number or quantity)
Sentence frame:
Something ----s something
Derivation:
average (a statistic describing the location of a distribution)
Context examples:
The substitution of missing data with a value that represents the average of a group of specified values.
(Average of Value Derivation Technique, NCI Thesaurus)
This strain has a average life span of two years and exhibits poor breeding performance and low litter size.
(ACI/Seg, Rat Strain, NCI Thesaurus)
In one study, on average, about 3.68% of letters used in English tend to be "a"s, while the number is 6.22% in Spanish and 3.95% in French.
(A, The Titi Tudorancea Bulletin)
Biologist Scott Mills of the University of Montana, who began studying snowshoe hares in the 1990s, says finding them has become much easier as average winter snow duration has decreased over time.
(Twenty-one species adapted to disappear in the snow. Then, the snow disappeared, National Science Foundation)
Rice grown under high carbon dioxide conditions had, on average, from 13 to 30 percent lower levels of four B vitamins, 10 percent less protein, 8 percent less iron and 5 percent less zinc than conventionally grown rice.
(Planet-Warming Gases Make Some Food Less Nutritious, Study Says, Steve Baragona/VOA)
WMO notes warmer than average temperatures dominated across much of the world’s land and ocean surfaces during November.
(World Meteorological Org.: Arctic Warming Appears Irreversible, VOA)
No, no; I shall exercise mine at the average of four hours every day while I am here.
(Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen)
The cold side is still quite toasty by Earthly standards, with an average of 2,400 to 2,600 degrees Fahrenheit (1,300 to 1,400 Celsius), and the hot side averages 4,200 degrees Fahrenheit (2,300 Celsius).
(Lava or Not, Exoplanet 55 Cancri e Likely to have Atmosphere, NASA)
The study authors classified the children into two groups based on how much their average daily screen time increased from age 1 to age 3.
(High amounts of screen time begin as early as infancy, National Institutes of Health)
The average human hair is about 70 micrometers in diameter, about 30 times larger than the largest fine particle.
(Pregnancy hypertension risk increased by traffic-related air pollution, National Institutes of Health)
