outlier

American  

[aut-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

The company’s success in China makes it an outlier among big Western brands.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026

Questioning it on his race-simulation run late in the session, he was told his tyre wear did appear to be "an outlier" compared to that of Verstappen.

From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026

Lest you think my opinion is an outlier, here’s what my predecessor Heather Havrilesky had to say about it when it first aired:

From Salon ● Oct. 1, 2026

Zwick: Portillo is a bit of an outlier.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 21, 2026

“The L and C program is on an outlier island about a ten-minute boat ride away,” she said.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

But the few strong illustrations and even fewer high-quality paintings and sculptures are bracing outliers amid a sea of mostly 19th- and 20th-century melodramatic, sentimental and patriotic illustration.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

There are some outliers: India, for example, a nation where beef is not generally eaten, serves no Big Macs, so the equivalent is the Chicken Maharajah Mac.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 31, 2026

But if those age-defying performances were outliers, playing into your mid-40s and even early 50s may soon become, if not common, at least less unusual.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026

The Apple TV show is set in a post-apocalyptic world in which most of humanity has been infected with an alien virus creating a peaceful hive mind, with only 13 outliers immune.

From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 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