statistical
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of statistical
First recorded in 1590–1600; statistic(s) + -al 1
Explanation
If you can say it with numbers, then it is probably statistical. Statistical information (or "stats") can tell the chance of rain tomorrow or what percentage or your allowance gets spent on texting. Statistics is the science of gathering numerical information in large amounts and using it to make broad deductions — such as the one that famously declared the average British family in the 1980s had 2.4 children. Of course, that was nonsense, and the statisticians later amended it — to 1.6. Statistical answers, as the previous example shows, often need to be taken with a pinch of salt.
Vocabulary lists containing statistical
Nothing But the Truth
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How It Went Down
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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.
However, that result did not reach statistical significance, which the researchers said could reflect the smaller number of prostate cancer cases within that group.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 27, 2026
Growth on permanent grasslands as of August 10 is a third less than the 1989-2018 average, according to the Agriculture Ministry's statistical service.
From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026
Of the nine indicators plotted in the above chart, the one with the best statistical track record is the average U.S. household’s equity allocation.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 24, 2026
"We found extremely high levels of anxiety and from a statistical perspective that pattern of findings is hugely unique, hugely unexpected and hugely significant."
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
An absolutely fundamental concept, that of statistical significance, was first propounded by Ronald Fisher in 1925.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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.
