skewness

American  

[skyoo-nis] / ˈskyu nɪs /

noun

Statistics.

1. asymmetry in a frequency distribution.

2. a measure of such asymmetry.

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ˈskewness British  

/ ˈskjuːnɪs /

noun

1. the quality or condition of being skew

2. statistics a measure of the symmetry of a distribution around its mean, esp the statistic B1 = m3/ ( m2 ) 3/2, where m2 and m3 are respectively the second and third moments of the distribution around the mean. In a normal distribution, B1 = 0 See kurtosis

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Etymology

Origin of skewness

First recorded in 1890–95; skew + -ness

Example Sentences

I am not sure how much this blindness to negative skewness extended to SVB executives, who mostly had regular banking backgrounds.

From Scientific American • Mar. 18, 2023

And negative skewness is the opposite: it’s a small chance of something terrible happening such as a bank run.

From Scientific American • Mar. 18, 2023

That step alone would reduce the skewness of the nation’s post-tax income distribution.

From Washington Post • Apr. 6, 2018

While a variance can never be a negative number, the measure of skewness can and this is how we determine if the data are skewed right of left.

From Textbooks • Nov. 29, 2017

In the distribution of the totals for ages, the mode appears plainly at 16, but with an evident skewness toward the upper ages.

From The High School Failures A Study of the School Records of Pupils Failing in Academic or Commercial High School Subjects by Obrien, Francis P.

Related Words

• imbalance
• inequality