median

[ mee-dee-uh n ]

/ ˈmi di ən /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR median ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

Arithmetic, Statistics. the middle number in a given sequence of numbers, taken as the average of the two middle numbers when the sequence has an even number of numbers: 4 is the median of 1, 3, 4, 8, 9.

Geometry. a straight line from a vertex of a triangle to the midpoint of the opposite side.

Also called midpoint. a vertical line that divides a histogram into two equal parts.Compare central tendency.

median strip.

adjective

Statistics. relating to the value in the center of the distribution for an array of data: the median income of American households.

noting or relating to a plane dividing something into two equal parts, especially one dividing an animal into right and left halves.

situated in or relating to the middle; medial.

Nearby words

Origin of median

First recorded in 1535–45, median is from the Latin word mediānus in the middle. See medium, -an

Related formsme·di·an·ly, adverbpost·me·di·an, adjectivepre·me·di·an, noun, adjectivesub·me·di·an, adjective

Can be confusedmean medianmedia median medium mediums

Median

[ mee-dee-uh n ]

/ ˈmi di ən /

adjective

of or relating to Media, the Medes, or their language.

noun

a Mede.

the Iranian language of ancient Media, contemporaneous with Old Persian.

Origin of Median

First recorded in 1595–1605; Medi(a) + -an

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for median

This would restore overtime rights to workers earning up to around $50,000 a year, which is roughly the current median.
It’s Always Black Friday for Clerks|Michael Tomasky|November 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Unlike most other telemarketers, they have a median net worth of almost $900,000.
Is It Time to Take a Chance on Random Representatives?|Michael Schulson|November 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Median household income peaked in America in 1999, under Bill Clinton, at $56,080.
The Real Reason Democrats Lost|Michael Tomasky|November 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The median household income in inflation-adjusted dollars back in 1987 was… well, what do you think?
The Real Reason Democrats Lost|Michael Tomasky|November 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The median total exemption rate was 1.8 percent this year, the same as in 2012-2013.
Mississippi: Last In Everything, First In Vaccinations|Brandy Zadrozny|October 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
In the median band of both wings the spots do not flow together, but are separate and moderately heavy.
The Butterfly Book|William Jacob Holland
The median, which lies in front of, but a little to the outside of the artery, though in some rare cases it lies behind it; 2.
A Manual of the Operations of Surgery|Joseph Bell
In my opinion this ganglion is, in part, at all events, the optic ganglion of the median eye on each side.
The Origin of Vertebrates|Walter Holbrook Gaskell
There is at this stage a faintly marked groove extending along the median line of the ventral plate.
The Works of Francis Maitland Balfour, Volume II (of 4)|Francis Maitland Balfour
The ears are fairly large, and the nose may or may not be traversed by a median groove.
The Cambridge Natural History, Vol X., Mammalia|Frank Evers Beddard

British Dictionary definitions for median

median

/ (ˈmiːdɪən) /

adjective

of, relating to, situated in, or directed towards the middle

biology of or relating to the plane that divides an organism or organ into symmetrical parts

statistics of or relating to the median

noun

a middle point, plane, or part

geometry

a straight line joining one vertex of a triangle to the midpoint of the opposite sideSee also centroid
a straight line joining the midpoints of the nonparallel sides of a trapezium

statistics the middle value in a frequency distribution, below and above which lie values with equal total frequencies

statistics the middle number or average of the two middle numbers in an ordered sequence of numbers7 is the median of both 1, 7, 31 and 2, 5, 9, l6

Also called: (chiefly Brit) central reservation Canadian the strip, often covered with grass, that separates the two sides of a highway

Derived Formsmedianly, adverb

Word Origin for median

C16: from Latin mediānus, from medius middle

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for median

median

adj.

1590s, from Middle French médian (15c.) and directly from Latin medianus "of the middle," from medius "in the middle" (see medial (adj.)). Originally anatomical, of veins, arteries, nerves. Median strip "strip between lanes of traffic" is from 1954.

median

"a median part," 1540s, from Latin medianus (see median (adj.)). Meaning "middle number of a series" is from 1883.

Medicine definitions for median

median

[ mē′dē-ən ]

adj.

Relating to, located in, or extending toward the middle.

Of, relating to, or situated in or near the plane that divides a bilaterally symmetrical animal into right and left halves; mesial.

Of, relating to, or constituting the middle value in a distribution.

n.

A median point, plane, line, or part.

The middle value in a distribution, above and below which lie an equal number of values.

Science definitions for median

median

[ mē′dē-ən ]

In a sequence of numbers arranged from smallest to largest:

The middle number, when such a sequence has an odd number of values. For example, in the sequence 3, 4, 14, 35, 280, the median is 14.
The average of the two middle numbers, when such a sequence has an even number of values. For example, in the sequence 4, 8, 10, 56, the median is 9 (the average of 8 and 10). Compare arithmetic mean average mode.

A line joining a vertex of a triangle to the midpoint of the opposite side.

Culture definitions for median

median

The point in a series at which half of the values or units of the series are higher and half lower.

In statistics, the middle value of a set of numbers or data points; half the figures will fall below the median and half above. (See average; compare mean and mode.)

median

noun

adjective

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Origin of median

Median

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Origin of Median

Examples from the Web for median

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Word Origin for median

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