(~s, averaging, ~d)
Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English.
1.
An ~ is the result that you get when you add two or more numbers together and divide the total by the number of numbers you added together.
Take the ~ of those ratios and multiply by a hundred.
= mean
N-COUNT
•
Average is also an adjective.
The ~ price of goods rose by just 2.2%...
= mean
ADJ: ADJ n
2.
You use ~ to refer to a number or size that varies but is always approximately the same.
It takes an ~ of ten weeks for a house sale to be completed.
N-SING: a N of amount
3.
An ~ person or thing is typical or normal.
The ~ adult man burns 1,500 to 2,000 calories per day...
ADJ: ADJ n
4.
An amount or quality that is the ~ is the normal amount or quality for a particular group of things or people.
Most areas suffered more rain than usual, with Northern Ireland getting double the ~ for the month.
= norm
N-SING: the N
•
Average is also an adjective.
?2.20 for a beer is ~.
...a woman of ~ height.
ADJ
5.
Something that is ~ is neither very good nor very bad, usually when you had hoped it would be better.
I was only ~ academically.
ADJ
6.
To ~ a particular amount means to do, get, or produce that amount as an ~ over a period of time.
We ~d 42 miles per hour.
VERB: V n
7.
You say on ~ or on an ~ to indicate that a number is the ~ of several numbers.
American shares rose, on ~, by 38%...
PHRASE: PHR with cl
8.
If you say that something is true on ~, you mean that it is generally true.
On ~, American firms remain the most productive in the world.
PHRASE: PHR with cl
9.
law of ~s: see law