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

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Etymology

Origin of outlier

First recorded in 1600–10; out- + lier

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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

India's middle order then ticked off the remaining 21 runs required with ease, with New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner's figures of 1-17 off three overs an outlier in a painful match for bowlers.

From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2026

Bank of America was an outlier and reported a lower profit, which was hit by a massive regulatory fine.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 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

Another notable outlier in the data was the “other managed assets” category, which accounted for 22.7% of the wealth in young households.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 24, 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

John Lettieri, the co-founder of Economic Innovation Group, a Washington-based think tank that conceived of the Opportunity Zones program, believes it has generally been a success, despite the outliers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026

"Because even if the particles decay in a largely uniform patten, there will always be outliers, more persistent particles, that will release radionuclides at a later point in time."

From Science Daily ● Oct. 23, 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

“I also think you have outliers of the party that sometimes suck all the oxygen out of the room and maybe derail that message.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026

We are so caught in the myths of the best and the brightest and the self-made that we think outliers spring naturally from the earth.

From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell

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Related Words

• aberration
• deviation
• eccentricity
• exception
• oddity

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