statistic
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of statistic
First recorded in 1815–20; back formation from statistics
Explanation
A statistic is a numerical piece of information. If you are trying to prove a point, and you want your argument to have a sense of authority, you might want to use a statistic to back up your claim. A statistic is a single piece of information represented by a number. “Water makes up 70% of the Earth’s surface,” for instance, is a statistic. A statistic is like a fact that is reached through a mathematical process. A population figure is the most common statistic you will encounter. When made plural, statistics means either a collection of statistics or the science of creating and interpreting statistics, as in “His favorite course in college was Statistics.”
Vocabulary lists containing statistic
Argumentative Writing
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Argumentative Writing, List 1
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Tears of a Tiger
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The experienced driver, from Birmingham, who now lives in Cannock, Staffordshire, still remembers the moment, shortly after passing his test, when he almost became a statistic himself.
From BBC ● Jul. 5, 2026
One revealing statistic from McQuarrie is the number of 50-year periods in U.S. history in which stocks failed to beat bonds.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 1, 2026
The vanishing summer job is two experiences buried in one statistic.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 9, 2026
Three years later, its year-end report flaunts another statistic: Vinyl record sales surpassed $1 billion in 2025 — the first time since 1983.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2026
Let’s now consider the following statistic, which represents the hundreds of matches in which a 7-7 wrestler faced an 8—6 wrestler on a tournament’s final day.
From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt
"We will not let this death be reduced to a footnote in this administration's enforcement statistics," said Crystal Cron, executive director of Presente Maine.
From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026
In his 89 England games, he has conceded 59 goals and kept 44 clean sheets while making, as measured by Opta statistics, only two errors that have led to goals.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
The number of open jobs, for instance, jumped to a two-year high of 7.6 million in May, government statistics show.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 11, 2026
He has said his priorities include reducing the Fed’s presence in financial markets, pulling back on guidance about future policy moves, and rethinking how the Fed uses statistics to understand the economy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
He cleared his throat and declared that new Government statistics proved last year's alfalfa harvest had set a record for the decade.
From "Among the Hidden" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
