moving average

American  

noun

Statistics.

1. one of a succession of averages of data from a time series, where each average is calculated by successively shifting the interval by the same period of time.

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moving average British  

noun

1. statistics (of a sequence of values) a derived sequence of the averages of successive subsequences of a given number of members, often used in time series to even out short-term fluctuations and make a trend clearer

   the 3-term moving average of 4, 6, 8, 7, 9, 8 is 6, 7, 8

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Etymology

Origin of moving average

First recorded in 1910–15

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

moving average

A death cross occurs when a stock’s short-term moving average, typically represented by the 50-day simple moving average, falls below a long-term moving average like the 200-day simple moving average.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 29, 2026

On Monday, the iShares Core High Dividend ETF ended nearly flat at $30.41, continuing to trade above its 50-day moving average of $29.19, FactSet data showed.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 26, 2026

Shares of the cloud communications company dropped below their current 50-day moving average.

From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026

The trend measure—a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts—was little changed for the month, nudging up 0.6% to 250,411, Canada’s national housing agency said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

The trend measure—a six-month moving average of the monthly seasonally adjusted annual rate of housing starts—was down 1.3% from a month prior at 244,149 units.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

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