sta ‧ tis ‧ tic S2 W3 AC /stəˈtɪstɪk/ BrE AmE noun
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ statistic , ↑ statistician ; adverb : ↑ statistically ; adjective : ↑ statistical ]
[ Date: 1700-1800 ; Language: German ; Origin: statistik 'study of political facts and figures' , from Modern Latin statisticus 'of politics' , from Latin status ; ⇨ ↑ state 1 ]
1 . statistics
a) [plural] a set of numbers which represent facts or measurements:
the official crime statistics
statistics for
statistics for injuries at work
Statistics show that 50% of new businesses fail in their first year.
b) [uncountable] the science of collecting and examining such numbers:
Statistics is a branch of mathematics.
2 . [singular] a single number which represents a fact or measurement:
The statistic comes from a study recently conducted by the British government.
3 . a statistic informal if someone is just a statistic, they are just another example of someone who has died because of a particular type of accident or disease:
We can’t let these boys become just another statistic.
—statistical adjective :
statistical evidence
—statistically /-kli/ adverb :
The variation is not statistically significant.
⇨ ↑ vital statistics
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + statistics
▪ official statistics
Official statistics indicate that educational standards are improving.
▪ government statistics
According to government statistics, only two percent of lone parents are aged under twenty.
▪ national statistics
National statistics greatly underestimate levels of heroin use.
▪ crime/economic/unemployment etc statistics
The economic statistics tell a grim story.
■ verbs
▪ statistics show/indicate something
Statistics show that 80 percent of dog attacks take place in the home.
▪ statistics suggest something
Housing conditions are far worse than the statistics suggest.
▪ compile/collect/gather statistics
Police have not yet compiled statistics for this year.