I. av ‧ e ‧ rage 1 S2 W2 /ˈæv ə rɪdʒ/ BrE AmE adjective
1 . the average amount is the amount you get when you add together several quantities and divide this by the total number of quantities:
The age of the candidates ranged from 29 to 49 with an average age of 37.
The average cost of making a movie has risen by 15%.
Last winter was colder than average.
The cars were being sold at an average price of $11,000.
2 . an average amount or quantity is not unusually big or small:
They have an average-size front garden and a large rear garden.
of average height/build/intelligence etc
He was in his late twenties and of average height.
3 . having qualities that are typical of most people or things:
The average American has not even thought about next year’s election.
In an average week I drive about 250 miles.
4 . neither very good nor very bad
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ normal usual, typical, and as you would expect it to be:
Is this cold weather normal for the time of year?
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It had been another normal working day in the office.
▪ ordinary ( also regular especially American English ) not special, unusual, or different from normal:
They lived in an ordinary three-bedroomed house.
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It looks like an ordinary car, but it uses solar power.
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Would you like a regular salad or a Caesar salad?
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I just want an ordinary bicycle, not a mountain bike.
▪ average [only before noun] around the usual level or amount:
She is of average height.
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He is of above average intelligence.
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The average price of a pint of milk has gone up.
▪ standard normal – used about methods of doing something, or about the size, shape, features etc of products:
It’s standard practice to X-ray hand-baggage at most airports.
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We stock shoes in all the standard sizes.
▪ routine used about things that are done regularly as part of a series of things:
The fault was discovered during a routine check of the plane.
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routine tasks such as shopping and cooking
▪ everyday [only before noun] used about things that happen or that you use as part of normal life:
He painted scenes of everyday life in France.
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Sally was still dressed in her everyday clothes.
▪ common used about birds and plants that are of the most usual type, and in the phrase the common people (=people who are not rich and powerful) :
the common goldfish
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an alliance between the aristocracy and the common people
▪ conventional [only before noun] of the kind that is usually used – used when comparing this with a different or special type:
The engine is more efficient than a conventional diesel engine.
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the drugs used in conventional medicine
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conventional weapons (=not nuclear, chemical, or biological)
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conventional ovens and microwaves
II. average 2 S2 BrE AmE noun
[ Date: 1700-1800 ; Origin: average '(fair sharing out of costs resulting from) damage to or loss of a ship or the goods it carries' (15-20 centuries) , from French avarie , from Arabic 'awariyah 'damaged goods' ]
1 . [countable] the amount calculated by adding together several quantities, and then dividing this amount by the total number of quantities
average of
The average of 3, 8, and 10 is 7.
Each person raised an average of £60 to plant an acre of trees.
The December figures brought the annual average for 2001 up to 10.6 per cent.
2 . on average based on a calculation about how many times something usually happens, how much money someone usually gets, how often people usually do something etc:
On average, men still earn more than women.
Nearly 80% of Swiss citizens on average turn out to vote.
3 . [uncountable and countable] the usual level or amount for most people or things:
Streets in the town centre are wider than the average.
above/below average
The school’s eighth-graders are above average in science.
The murder rate in the city has risen to four times the national average.
⇨ law of averages at ↑ law (9)
III. average 3 BrE AmE verb
1 . [linking verb] to usually do something or usually happen a particular number of times, or to usually be a particular size or amount:
The water in the lake is not particularly deep, averaging about 12 metres.
The airport averages about a thousand flights a month.
Inflation averaged just under 2.8% per year.
2 . [transitive] to calculate the average of figures:
The rate of growth was averaged over a period of three years.
average out phrasal verb
1 . if something averages out at a particular figure, it has that figure as an average over a period of time
average out at
Training costs for last year averaged out at £5,100 per trainee.
The government’s share of the cost was intended to average out at 25%.
2 . average something ↔ out to calculate the average of something:
I averaged out the total increase at about 10%.