I. ˈa-v(ə-)rij noun
Etymology: from earlier average proportionally distributed charge for damage at sea, modification of Middle French avarie damage to ship or cargo, from Old Italian avaria, from Arabic ‘awārīya damaged merchandise
Date: 1732
1.
a. : a single value (as a mean, mode, or median) that summarizes or represents the general significance of a set of unequal values
b. : mean 1b
2.
a. : an estimation of or approximation to an arithmetic mean
b. : a level (as of intelligence) typical of a group, class, or series
above the average
3. : a ratio expressing the average performance especially of an athletic team or an athlete computed according to the number of opportunities for successful performance
•
- on average
Synonyms:
average , mean , median , norm mean something that represents a middle point. average is exactly or approximately the quotient obtained by dividing the sum total of a set of figures by the number of figures
scored an average of 85 on tests
mean may be the simple average or it may represent value midway between two extremes
a high of 70° and a low of 50° give a mean of 60°
median applies to the value that represents the point at which there are as many instances above as there are below
average of a group of persons earning 3, 4, 5, 8, and 10 dollars an hour is 6 dollars, whereas the median is 5 dollars
norm means the computed or estimated average of performance of a significantly large group, class, or grade
scores about the norm for fifth grade arithmetic
II. adjective
Date: 1770
1. : equaling an arithmetic mean
2.
a. : being about midway between extremes
a man of average height
b. : not out of the ordinary : common
the average person
• av·er·age·ly adverb
• av·er·age·ness noun
III. verb
( av·er·aged ; av·er·ag·ing )
Date: 1769
intransitive verb
1.
a. : to be or come to an average
the gain averaged out to 20 percent
b. : to have a medial value of
a color averaging a pale purple
2. : to buy on a falling market or sell on a rising market additional shares or commodities so as to obtain a more favorable average price — usually used with down or up
transitive verb
1. : to do, get, or have on the average or as an average sum or quantity
average s 12 hours of work a day
2. : to find the arithmetic mean of (a series of unequal quantities)
3.
a. : to bring toward the average
b. : to divide among a number proportionately