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

It was a personal outlier as well in Lauer’s time with the Dodgers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026

Beverly Hills High spent $4.8 million on its apparatus in a single fiscal year, and it’s less an outlier than a preview of what the vendors want everywhere.

From Slate ● Aug. 21, 2026

London is an outlier with an average disposable income of more than £36,000 per head although there are very large variations between London's boroughs.

From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026

That Canadian smoke wasn’t pretty, but it was an outlier.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026

The Barrow-wights we know by many names; and of the Old Forest many tales have been told: all that now remains is but an outlier of its northern march.

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

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

While some elaborate “living room” setups are evident, they are outliers, as many beachgoers simply use canopies to cover beach chairs, coolers and supplies.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 5, 2026

Bloom says he has used a variety of approaches including accounting for distance, economic gravity, the size of the economy and selectively omitting potential outliers.

From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026

But inflation cycles vary and outliers and composition change over time.

From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026

It was a story of how the outliers in a particular field reached their lofty status through a combination of ability, opportunity, and utterly arbitrary advantage.

From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell

Related Words

• aberration
• deviation
• eccentricity
• exception
• oddity