outlier
[out-lahy-er]
- something that lies outside the main body or group that it is a part of, as a cow far from the rest of the herd, or a distant island belonging to a cluster of islands: The small factory was an outlier, and unproductive, so the corporation sold it off to private owners who were able to make it profitable.
- someone who stands apart from others of his or her group, as by differing behavior, beliefs, or religious practices: scientists who are outliers in their views on climate change.
- Statistics.
- an observation that is well outside of the expected range of values in a study or experiment, and which is often discarded from the data set: Experience with a variety of data-reduction problems has led to several strategies for dealing with outliers in data sets.
- a person whose abilities, achievements, etc., lie outside the range of statistical probability.
- Geology. a part of a formation left detached through the removal of surrounding parts by erosion.Compare inlier.
- Obsolete. a person residing outside the place of his or her business, duty, etc.
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Origin of outlier
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for outlier
Contemporary Examples
But Florida is kind of an outlier, because culturally, only the northern half of Florida is Dixie.
Egeland is something of an outlier among the worldwide community of humanitarians because he says this sort of thing out loud.
Actually, the United States is an outlier among democracies in granting such generous free speech guarantees.
In comparison to other NWO conspiracy theorists, experts say Ciancia is an outlier.
Said Fidas: “ExxonMobil remains a significant holdout with respect to LGBT equality and in many ways an outlier.”
Historical Examples
We first visited together the outlier of the Weald at Linksfield.
The Cruise of the BetseyHugh Miller
The dome of Knocklayd, capped by an outlier of chalk and basalt, consists mostly of this far more ancient series.
The outlier of the group once created served as a nucleus for fresh accumulations.
Man and His MigrationsR. G. (Robert Gordon) Latham
"Eat," said Akela, rising up from the meat Mowgli had brought him, and the Outlier flung himself on it.
The Second Jungle BookRudyard Kipling
It was Won-tolla, the Outlier, and he said never a word, but continued his horrible sport beside the dholes.
The Second Jungle BookRudyard Kipling
outlier
- an outcrop of rocks that is entirely surrounded by older rocks
- a person, thing, or part situated away from a main or related body
- a person who lives away from his place of work, duty, etc
- statistics a point in a sample widely separated from the main cluster of points in the sampleSee scatter diagram
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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 outlier
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper