statistic
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of statistic
First recorded in 1815–20; back formation from statistics
Explanation
A statistic is a numerical piece of information. If you are trying to prove a point, and you want your argument to have a sense of authority, you might want to use a statistic to back up your claim. A statistic is a single piece of information represented by a number. “Water makes up 70% of the Earth’s surface,” for instance, is a statistic. A statistic is like a fact that is reached through a mathematical process. A population figure is the most common statistic you will encounter. When made plural, statistics means either a collection of statistics or the science of creating and interpreting statistics, as in “His favorite course in college was Statistics.”
Vocabulary lists containing statistic
Argumentative Writing
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Argumentative Writing, List 1
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Tears of a Tiger
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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.
See Examples For:
The experienced driver, from Birmingham, who now lives in Cannock, Staffordshire, still remembers the moment, shortly after passing his test, when he almost became a statistic himself.
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026
Consider a statistic known as the “R-squared,” which measures the degree to which a given stock-market indicator is able to predict or explain the market’s future return.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 12, 2026
The total fertility rate of 1.57 is a snapshot statistic, not a portrait of any particular woman’s life, she says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026
Three years later, its year-end report flaunts another statistic: Vinyl record sales surpassed $1 billion in 2025 — the first time since 1983.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2026
And knowing that my mother in there was a statistic that didn’t have to be, that existed because of a society’s failure, hypocrisy, greed, and lack of mercy and compassion.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
It affects the official final standings, historical records and player statistics.
From BBC ● Jul. 18, 2026
Ultimately, McIlroy finishing 148th in the putting strokes gained statistics - with only eight players worse in the field - illustrated where it had gone wrong.
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026
China’s official statistics bureau is scheduled to release second-quarter GDP data on Wednesday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
"We will not let this death be reduced to a footnote in this administration's enforcement statistics," said Crystal Cron, executive director of Presente Maine.
From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026
Roughly one-third of the planet already lived in chronic poverty, according to United Nations statistics.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
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.
