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average

[ av-er-ij, av-rij ]

/ ˈæv ər ɪdʒ, ˈæv rɪdʒ /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR average ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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.

a typical amount, rate, degree, etc.; norm.

Statistics. arithmetic mean.

Mathematics. a quantity intermediate to a set of quantities.

Commerce.

a charge paid by the master of a ship for such services as pilotage or towage.
an expense, partial loss, or damage to a ship or cargo.
the incidence of such an expense or loss to the owners or their insurers.
an equitable apportionment among all the interested parties of such an expense or loss.Compare general average, particular average.

adjective

of or relating to an average; estimated by average; forming an average: The average rainfall there is 180 inches.

typical; common; ordinary: The average secretary couldn't handle such a workload. His grades were nothing special, only average.

verb (used with object), av·er·aged, av·er·ag·ing.

to find an average value for (a variable quantity); reduce to a mean: We averaged the price of milk in five neighborhood stores.

(of a variable quantity) to have as its arithmetic mean: Wheat averages 56 pounds to a bushel.

to do or have on the average: He averages seven hours of sleep a night.

verb (used without object), av·er·aged, av·er·ag·ing.

to have or show an average: to average as expected.

Verb Phrases

average down, to purchase more of a security or commodity at a lower price to reduce the average cost of one's holdings.

average out,

to come out of a security or commodity transaction with a profit or without a loss.
to reach an average or other figure: His taxes should average out to about a fifth of his income.

average up, to purchase more of a security or commodity at a higher price to take advantage of a contemplated further rise in prices.

QUIZZES

DON’T VACILLATE! VANQUISH THIS WORD OF THE DAY QUIZ!

It’d be a real faux pas to miss this quiz on the words from August 3–9, 2020!

Question 1 of 7

What does “vacillate” mean?

to waver in mind or opinion; be indecisive or irresolute.

to cause to be empty or unoccupied.

to assent tacitly; agree; consent.

TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUT

Idioms for average

on the / an average, usually; typically: She can read 50 pages an hour, on the average.

Origin of average

1485–95; earlier averay charge on goods shipped, originally duty (<Middle French avarie<Old Italian avaria<Arabic ʿawārīyah damaged merchandise), with -age replacing -ay

OTHER WORDS FROM average

av·er·age·a·ble, adjectiveav·er·age·ly, adverbav·er·age·ness, nounsub·av·er·age, adjective

sub·av·er·age·ly, adverbsu·per·av·er·age, adjectivesu·per·av·er·age·ness, nounun·av·er·aged, adjectiveun·der·av·er·age, adjectivewell-av·er·aged, adjective

Words nearby average

aventurine, Aventyl, avenue, Avenzoar, aver, average, average adjuster, average deviation, average joe, average life, average revenue

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for average

Well over a thousand holes in, I average less than four strokes per hole.
Lost For Thousands of Strokes: 'Desert Golfing' Is 'Angry Birds' as Modern Art|Alec Kubas-Meyer|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST
On average, the vaccine has an efficacy of about 60 percent.
When You Get the Flu This Winter, You Can Blame Anti-Vaxxers|Kent Sepkowitz|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Average age ranges from 45 to 65, with her youngest client at 18 and the oldest in her 80s.
Inside A Finishing School for Transwomen|Sharon Adarlo|December 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Ramos was 38—nearly two decades older than the average recruit.
In The Shadow of Murdered Cops|Michael Daly|December 26, 2014|DAILY BEAST

All because Murthy believes that gun violence, which kills an average of 86 Americans every day, is a public health issue.
The NRA’s Twisted List for Santa|John Feinblatt|December 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I have walked, on an average, about ten miles a-day since at Grfenberg.
Every Man his own Doctor|R. T. Claridge
They have done better than the average archaeologist with one or another find to his credit.
Cooking and Dining in Imperial Rome|Apicius
Eight parts of ore furnish, on an average, about one of schlich.
A Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures and Mines|Andrew Ure
As they clasped warmly upon his, Average Jones' reason lost its balance.
Average Jones|Samuel Hopkins Adams
The total number of remembered dreams varies considerably with different observers, some attaining an average of ten per night.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 7|Various

British Dictionary definitions for average

average

/ (ˈævərɪdʒ, ˈævrɪdʒ) /

noun

the typical or normal amount, quality, degree, etcabove average in intelligence

Also called: arithmetic mean the result obtained by adding the numbers or quantities in a set and dividing the total by the number of members in the setthe average of 3, 4, and 8 is 5

(of a continuously variable ratio, such as speed) the quotient of the differences between the initial and final values of the two quantities that make up the ratiohis average over the journey was 30 miles per hour

maritime law

a loss incurred or damage suffered by a ship or its cargo at sea
the equitable apportionment of such loss among the interested parties

(often plural) stock exchange a simple or weighted average of the prices of a selected group of securities computed in order to facilitate market comparisons

on average, on the average or on an average usually; typicallyon average, he goes twice a week