average

1 of 3

noun

av·​er·​age ˈa-v(ə-)rij How to pronounce average (audio)
1
a
: a single value (such as a mean, mode, or median) that summarizes or represents the general significance of a set of unequal values
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
a batting average

average

2 of 3

adjective

1
: equaling an arithmetic mean
2
a
: being about midway between extremes
a man of average height
b
: not out of the ordinary : common
on an average day
the average person
averagely adverb
averageness noun

average

3 of 3

verb

averaged; averaging

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
colors that average to gray
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
averages 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 according to a size, number, or amount that is directly related to or appropriate for something
average a loss
Phrases
on average or on the average
: taking the typical example of the group under consideration
Prices have increased on average by five percent. [=the average increase has been five percent]

Did you know?

The word average came into English from Middle French avarie, a derivative of an Arabic word meaning “damaged merchandise.” Avarie originally meant damage sustained by a ship or its cargo, but came to mean the expenses of such damage. When the English borrowed the word, they altered it to conform to the pattern of words ending in -age. When a ship or its cargo was damaged at sea, the owners or insurers shared the expense, or average. An average-adjuster determined a division of costs among them. An average then became any equal distribution or division, like the determination of an arithmetic mean. Soon the arithmetic mean itself was called an average. Now the word may be applied to any mean or middle value or level.

Choose the Right Synonym for average

average, mean, median, norm mean something that represents a middle point.

average is 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 average of performance of a significantly large group, class, or grade.

scores about the norm for fifth grade arithmetic

Examples of average in a Sentence

Noun The average of 16, 8, and 6 is 10. Take all these temperatures and find their average. An average of 2,000 people attended the show each night. Prices have increased on average about eight percent. On average, women live longer than men. His work has been above the average. Adjective Take all these temperatures and find their average temperature. The investment had a higher average return. The average age of the company's employees is 36. The average woman lives longer than the average man. Do you know what the average person earns? the average American family buyer Sales were about average for the industry on the whole. Average grades are not good enough to get you into graduate school. She was an average student. She thought the performance was just average. Verb The teacher averaged the students' grades. What figure do you get when you average the amount of rainfall for the last three months?
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
California’s carbon intensity is 8.8% lower than the national average, according to the report. Melody Petersen, Los Angeles Times, 16 Mar. 2024 Typical pay for elder care occupations hovers between $14 and $15 an hour, less than half the national average of $34, according to the Bureau of Labor Statitics. Chloe Berger, Fortune, 16 Mar. 2024 Related article Family Dollar and Dollar Tree will close 1,000 stores One study of retailers in the United States, Britain and other European countries found that companies with self-checkout lanes and apps had a loss rate of about 4%, more than double the industry average. Nathaniel Meyersohn, CNN, 14 Mar. 2024 This approval rating among Haley voters is remarkably high given that, based on a basic polling average,* slightly fewer than 10 percent of Republicans and around 30 percent of independents approve of Biden's job performance. Geoffrey Skelley, ABC News, 14 Mar. 2024 That letter noted, as did Wednesday's lawsuit, that 23 other counties had active voter registrations in excess of 90% of the voting age population, which is far greater than the national average for voter registration. Todd Spangler, Detroit Free Press, 13 Mar. 2024 According to current real estate data by Zillow, the median home price there is $180,000, a whopping $207,000 below the national average for November 2023. Dobrina Zhekova, Travel + Leisure, 12 Mar. 2024 This number, though slightly lower than some competitors, is still above the industry average. Sponsored Content, The Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2024 From 2020 through the first 10½ months of 2023, an average of 24 children died by homicide every year and another 103 were injured in shootings. Drake Bentley, Journal Sentinel, 11 Mar. 2024
Adjective
In 2019, the average $40,000 new car at a 4.6 percent, five-year rate had a $748 payment. Jonathan Lansner, San Diego Union-Tribune, 17 Mar. 2024 The film scraped together just $1.25 million from 1,146 venues — a smaller screen count than the average wide release. Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 17 Mar. 2024 The number of policies in force has climbed by 168 percent, from under 500,000 to more than 1.3 million, and the average premium has climbed by 61 percent from $2,000 to $3,300, according to the First Street Foundation study. Amy Green, WIRED, 16 Mar. 2024 On average, around 115 supply trucks a day have entered Gaza over the entire course of the war, according to figures released by the Israeli prime minister's office -- far below the average of 500 a day before Oct. 7 -- though on some days the number spikes to above 200. Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 16 Mar. 2024 Louisville ranked among noisiest cities In Louisville, Steel Guard Safety found that traffic per square mile is about 3,900, the average commute time is 22.7 minutes, there's about 4,004 people per square mile and there's an average of 123 flights per day. The Courier-Journal, 16 Mar. 2024 Amazon has said that the fee changes are significantly less than those announced by other major fulfillment services, and that many sellers will see a decrease in the average fees paid to Amazon per unit sold. Jason Del Rey, Fortune, 16 Mar. 2024 Friday saw a high of only 60 degrees as the incoming storm system dropped temperature highs down to 10-15 degrees below average, according to the National Weather Service. The Arizona Republic, 15 Mar. 2024 In January, the global average temperature measured 1.66 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial reference period, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. World & Nation The planet is dangerously close to this climate threshold. Hayley Smith, Los Angeles Times, 5 Mar. 2024
Verb
The Trojans averaged 3,856 fans at Galen Center this season, more than three times last year’s average of 1,037. Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2024 From 2002 through 2023, songs by White artists averaged 96.5 percent of country radio airplay. Emily Yahr, Washington Post, 17 Mar. 2024 In 2016, Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson was averaging just under 10 percent support in July before dropping steadily ahead of the election, finishing with 3.3 percent of the popular vote. Kaleigh Rogers, ABC News, 15 Mar. 2024 Elijah Mahi, a 6-6 sophomore from Toronto who will play at Santa Clara University next season, and Jeremiah Dargan, a 6-4 product of Clayton Valley Charter in Concord who has signed with Montana, also average double figures in points. Darren Sabedra, The Mercury News, 14 Mar. 2024 Tomatoes, which are 1.1% more expensive, currently averaging $2.15 per pound nationwide. Alexander Coolidge, The Enquirer, 10 Mar. 2024 Aaron Estrada, a senior transfer guard who previously played at Saint Peter's, Oregon and Hofstra, is averaging 13.5 points for the Tide. Bob Holt, arkansasonline.com, 9 Mar. 2024 Hampered by a stress fracture in her shin that required a metal rod being inserted into her lower leg, Williams is only averaging 10.7 minutes per game, but makes the most out of her opportunities by changing the pace on defense with an aggressive press. Thuc Nhi Nguyen, Los Angeles Times, 6 Mar. 2024 Large issuers tend to charge slightly higher late fees, averaging $32, the CFPB said. The Arizona Republic, 6 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'average.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun, Adjective, and Verb

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 ʽawārīya damaged merchandise

First Known Use

Noun

1770, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adjective

1746, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1769, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of average was in 1746

Dictionary Entries Near average

Cite this Entry

“Average.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/average. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

average

1 of 3 noun
av·​er·​age ˈav-(ə-)rij How to pronounce average (audio)
1
2
: a level typical of a group, class, or series
their work is above the average
3
: a ratio of successful tries to total tries
batting average

average

2 of 3 adjective
1
: equaling or close to an arithmetic mean
2
: being ordinary or usual
the average person
an average day
averagely adverb
averageness noun

average

3 of 3 verb
averaged; averaging
1
: to amount to on the average
they average four feet in height
2
: to do or get usually
she averaged 40 miles a day
3
: to find the average of
average the grades

More from Merriam-Webster on average

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!