statistician

American  

[stat-i-stish-uhn] / ˌstæt ɪˈstɪʃ ən /

noun

1. an expert in or compiler of statistics.

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statistician British  

/ ˌstætɪˈstɪʃən /

noun

1. a person who specializes in or is skilled at statistics

2. a person who compiles statistics

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Etymology

Origin of statistician

First recorded in 1815–25; statist(ics) + -ician

Explanation

Numbers, numbers and more numbers. A statistician is a math expert who uses huge amounts of data to figure out how likely it is that something will happen, like your chances of winning the lottery. See the word statistics in statistician? A statistician is an expert in the field of statistics, something you hear or see every day — the percentage of Americans who have cell phones, or how likely you are to be fit and healthy if you live in Oregon are statistics. The people who figure these things out are statisticians.

Example Sentences

As early as 1662, the physician and statistician William Petty asserted a cycle of “dearths and plenties” every seven years.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026

"Although spending has risen this financial year, this was more than offset by increased receipts," said ONS senior statistician Tom Davis.

From BBC • Apr. 23, 2026

Greg Auclair, a statistician at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, told BBC Verify that there has been an uptick in foreign investment in the US over the past year.

From BBC • Feb. 25, 2026

“More than half of all goods exported in 2025 were medical and pharmaceutical products,” said Jane Burmanje, a statistician at the CSO.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 17, 2026

Let’s examine a preliminary and relevant probability oddity, whose discovery is due to statistician Bradley Efron.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos