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.
Note that this lack of statistical significance also means that momentum traders are wrong if they think that the market’s recent strength increases the odds of a summer rally — it doesn’t.
From MarketWatch • May 15, 2026
To tackle the problem, the researchers adapted a statistical method commonly used in ecology.
From Science Daily • May 12, 2026
These systems generate statistical risk scores or heat maps for locations based on prior incidents.
From Salon • May 12, 2026
Polls show a statistical tie between da Silva and Flávio Bolsonaro.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 7, 2026
It is a powerful—if limited—tool that uses statistical techniques to identify otherwise elusive correlations.
From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt
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.
