statistical
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
- nonstatistical adjective
- nonstatistically adverb
- prestatistical adjective
- statistically adverb
- unstatistical adjective
- unstatistically adverb
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.
NHS Education for Scotland, which records employment levels and vacancies, said differences in workforce policy and statistical methods mean staffing numbers, including GP count, are not the same as those elsewhere in the UK.
From BBC • Apr. 2, 2026
“Jamie and I would talk every day after he brought this role for me. I didn’t want to be measured on VAR,” which stands for “value at risk,” a statistical measure that quantifies financial risk.
From Barron's • Mar. 27, 2026
Fewer Lyme disease cases were accrued over the study period than anticipated, and the pre-determined statistical criterion wasn’t met in the primary endpoint.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 23, 2026
However, the predetermined statistical criterion was not met in the primary endpoint.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 23, 2026
There are two sorts of errors that can be made in applying this or any statistical test; they’re called, imaginatively enough, Type I and Type II errors.
From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos
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.
