outlier

American  

[out-lahy-er] / ˈaʊtˌlaɪ ər /

noun

outliers plural

1. something that lies outside the main body or group that it is a part of, such 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.

2. someone who stands apart from other members of a group, such as by differing behavior, beliefs, or religious practices.

   There are a few scientists who are outliers in their views on climate change.

   Synonyms:

   outsider, heretic, iconoclast, dissenter, dissident, bohemian, eccentric, original, maverick, nonconformist

3. Statistics.

   1. 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.

   2. a person whose abilities, achievements, etc., lie outside the range of statistical probability.

4. Geology. a part of a formation left detached through the removal of surrounding parts by erosion.

5. Obsolete. a person residing outside the place of their business, duty, etc.

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outlier British  

/ ˈaʊtˌlaɪə /

noun

1. an outcrop of rocks that is entirely surrounded by older rocks

2. a person, thing, or part situated away from a main or related body

3. a person who lives away from his place of work, duty, etc

4. statistics a point in a sample widely separated from the main cluster of points in the sample See scatter diagram

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• outliers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of outlier

First recorded in 1600–10; out- + lier

Explanation

In statistics an outlier is a piece of data that is far from the rest; think of a graph with dots, where most dots are clustered together in the middle, but one dot, the outlier, is at the top. Think of an outlier as an outsider. An outlier refers to anything that strays from, or isn’t part of, the norm. If you like to sleep in a tent in the backyard while your neighbors and family sleep in their beds, you’re probably an outlier. You may also be an outlier if you have to travel far to your job. In geology, rock that is separated from another rock formation is called an outlier.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

outlier outliers

While the U.S. has become more expensive relative to every other significant economy, Japan is the real cost-of-living outlier.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026

"Britain is an international outlier in how reliant our system is on blunt cash payments," said Joe Shalam, policy director at the think tank.

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026

The debate comes as UC increasingly stands as a national outlier in its refusal to consider SAT and ACT scores.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026

Justice Brett Kavanaugh was the outlier in the decision, agreeing with the court’s judgment but disagreeing with its justification.

From Salon ● Jul. 2, 2026

He has become the public face of genius in American life, a celebrity outlier.

From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell

To say they were the outliers in the Scotland support in those moments would be putting it mildly.

From BBC ● Jun. 20, 2026

The study didn’t give explanations for the outliers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026

Shooting in New York is a very interesting experience because you have all these outliers just watching and gawking.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 4, 2026

Warsh has said he prefers alternative inflation measures like trimmed mean and median PCE, which strip out outliers and tend to run cooler than the headline figures.

From Barron's ● May 14, 2026

They were now on level ground, and the road after much winding lay straight ahead through grass-land sprinkled with tall trees, outliers of the approaching woods.

From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien

Related Words

• aberration
• deviation
• eccentricity
• exception
• oddity