statistical
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived 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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
How It Went Down
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
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.
"The result of the June 7 presidential election has led us to a statistical tie."
From Barron's • Jun. 9, 2026
None of the factors that that are widely assumed to be correlated with gold rests on a strong statistical foundation.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 8, 2026
Fifteen years later, the phenomenon caught the curiosity of a scientist from the statistical and biological physics group at the Hungarian Academy of Sciences in Budapest.
From BBC • Jun. 7, 2026
Pratt’s solutions may be moon shots untethered to statistical reality.
From Slate • Jun. 3, 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.
