statistical
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of statistical
First recorded in 1590–1600; statistic(s) + -al 1
Explanation
If you can say it with numbers, then it is probably statistical. Statistical information (or "stats") can tell the chance of rain tomorrow or what percentage or your allowance gets spent on texting. Statistics is the science of gathering numerical information in large amounts and using it to make broad deductions — such as the one that famously declared the average British family in the 1980s had 2.4 children. Of course, that was nonsense, and the statisticians later amended it — to 1.6. Statistical answers, as the previous example shows, often need to be taken with a pinch of salt.
Vocabulary lists containing statistical
Nothing But the Truth
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How It Went Down
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Statistical models accounted for factors such as age, medical conditions, lipid levels, and treatment history.
From Science Daily • May 15, 2026
Food prices in November were up five percent year-on-year, according to the National Statistical Institute, more than double the eurozone average.
From Barron's • Dec. 28, 2025
Statistical artistry was used to compare an early flu season to one that started much later allowing claims of flu cases being "an incredible 10 times higher" than in 2023.
From BBC • Dec. 19, 2025
Statistical proof is well-established in the field of labor economics.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 18, 2025
Statistical mechanics—the theory of wiggles—explained some of the basic properties of matter, and it even seemed to explain the nature of light itself.
From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
