— averageable , adj. — averagely , adv. — averageness , n.
/av"euhr ij, av"rij/ , n., adj., v., averaged, averaging .
n.
1. a quantity, rating, or the like that represents or approximates an arithmetic mean: Her golf average is in the 90s. My average in science has gone from B to C this semester.
2. a typical amount, rate, degree, etc.; norm.
3. Statistics. See arithmetic mean .
4. Math. a quantity intermediate to a set of quantities.
5. Com.
a. a charge paid by the master of a ship for such services as pilotage or towage.
b. an expense, partial loss, or damage to a ship or cargo.
c. the incidence of such an expense or loss to the owners or their insurers.
d. an equitable apportionment among all the interested parties of such an expense or loss. Cf. general average, particular average .
6. on the or an average , usually; typically: She can read 50 pages an hour, on the average.
adj.
7. of or pertaining to an average; estimated by average; forming an average: The average rainfall there is 180 inches.
8. typical; common; ordinary: The average secretary couldn't handle such a workload. His grades were nothing special, only average.
v.t.
9. to find an average value for (a variable quantity); reduce to a mean: We averaged the price of milk in five neighborhood stores.
10. (of a variable quantity) to have as its arithmetic mean: Wheat averages 56 pounds to a bushel.
11. to do or have on the average: He averages seven hours of sleep a night.
v.i.
12. to have or show an average: to average as expected.
13. average down , to purchase more of a security or commodity at a lower price to reduce the average cost of one's holdings.
14. average out ,
a. to come out of a security or commodity transaction with a profit or without a loss.
b. to reach an average or other figure: His taxes should average out to about a fifth of his income.
15. average up , to purchase more of a security or commodity at a higher price to take advantage of a contemplated further rise in prices.
[ 1485-95; earlier averay charge on goods shipped, orig. duty ( avarie avaria awariyah damaged merchandise), with -AGE r. - ay ]