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• median
  median

  noun

  the middle number in a given sequence of numbers, taken as the average of the two middle numbers when the sequence has an even number of numbers.
• Median
  Median

  adjective

  of or relating to Media, the Medes, or their language.

median

¹ American  

[mee-dee-uhn] / ˈmi di ən /

noun

• medians
  plural

1. Arithmetic, Statistics. the middle number in a given sequence of numbers, taken as the average of the two middle numbers when the sequence has an even number of numbers.

   4 is the median of 1, 3, 4, 8, 9.

2. Geometry. a straight line from a vertex of a triangle to the midpoint of the opposite side.

3. Also called midpoint. a vertical line that divides a histogram into two equal parts.

4. median strip.

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adjective

1. Statistics. relating to the value in the center of the distribution for an array of data.

   the median income of American households.

2. noting or relating to a plane dividing something into two equal parts, especially one dividing an animal into right and left halves.

3. situated in or relating to the middle; medial.

Median ² American  

[mee-dee-uhn] / ˈmi di ən /

adjective

1. of or relating to Media, the Medes, or their language.

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noun

1. a Mede.

2. the Iranian language of ancient Media, contemporaneous with Old Persian.

median British  

/ ˈmiːdɪən /

adjective

1. of, relating to, situated in, or directed towards the middle

2. biology of or relating to the plane that divides an organism or organ into symmetrical parts

3. statistics of or relating to the median

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noun

1. a middle point, plane, or part

2. geometry

   1. a straight line joining one vertex of a triangle to the midpoint of the opposite side See also centroid

   2. a straight line joining the midpoints of the nonparallel sides of a trapezium

3. statistics the middle value in a frequency distribution, below and above which lie values with equal total frequencies

4. statistics the middle number or average of the two middle numbers in an ordered sequence of numbers

   7 is the median of both 1, 7, 31 and 2, 5, 9, l6

5. Also called: central reservation. the strip, often covered with grass, that separates the two sides of a highway

median Scientific  

/ mē′dē-ən /

1. In a sequence of numbers arranged from smallest to largest:

   1. The middle number, when such a sequence has an odd number of values. For example, in the sequence 3, 4, 14, 35, 280, the median is 14.

   2. The average of the two middle numbers, when such a sequence has an even number of values. For example, in the sequence 4, 8, 10, 56, the median is 9 (the average of 8 and 10).

2. A line joining a vertex of a triangle to the midpoint of the opposite side.

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median ¹ Cultural  

1. The point in a series at which half of the values or units of the series are higher and half lower.

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median ² Cultural  

1. In statistics, the middle value of a set of numbers or data points; half the figures will fall below the median and half above. (See average; compare mean and mode.)

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Usage

What’s the difference between median, mean, mode, and average? In the context of mathematics and statistics, the median is the middle number in a set of values when those values are arranged from smallest to largest. In contrast, the word mean refers to what’s informally called the average—the sum of a set of values divided by the number of values. The mode of a set of values is the most frequently repeated value in the set. The word average is of course also very commonly used in more general ways. In math, though, it’s helpful to use more specific terms when determining the most representative or common value in a set of numbers. To illustrate the difference, let’s look at an example set of seven values: 2, 3, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9. To get the mean of this set, you’d add up all the values (2+3+3+4+6+8+9=35) and then divide that total by the number of values (7), resulting in a mean of 5. This is what most people are referring to when they refer to the average of some set of numbers. To find the median, you have to find the one that’s sequentially in the middle. In a set of seven numbers arranged in increasing value, the median is the fourth number (since there are three before and three after). In this set (2, 3, 3, 4, 6, 8, 9), the median is 4. When a set has an even number of values, the median is the mean of the two middle values. The mode is simply the value that shows up the most. In the example set, the mode is 3, since it occurs twice and all the other values occur only once. Want to learn more? Read the full breakdown of the difference between median, mean, mode, and average.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• premedian
  noun
• postmedian
  adjective
• submedian
  adjective
• medianly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• medians
  plural

Etymology

Origin of median¹

First recorded in 1535–45, median is from the Latin word mediānus in the middle. See medium, -an

Origin of Median²

First recorded in 1595–1605; Medi(a) + -an

Explanation

Median means middle. When a strip of grass divides one direction of a highway from another, it's called a median because it runs through the middle. Median comes from the Latin word medius, which also means middle. In math, the median is a number in the middle of a list. In the set 2, 3, 5, 10, 25, the median is 5. The statistical median is often linked to the idea of an average. A town's average income might seem high if there are two extremely rich people who live there. The median will tell you the income of the person halfway through the list.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

median Median medians

An analysis by the personal-finance site Bankrate, released last year, concluded that full-time working mothers with children under 18 earned a median of roughly $56,700 a year, compared with $76,400 for full-time working fathers.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 1, 2026

At the same time, middle-income families also struggle to afford housing in the state, where single-family homes sold for a median price of $887,680 in July.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

The median down payment in January of this year was $23,053, according to Realtor.com.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

That would be tied for the longest losing streak for the median S&P 500 stock since May 2022.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 1, 2026

The neighborhood’s median income was about $15,000 a year, well less than half the U.S. average.

From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt

Median sale prices of dog-boarding businesses have been volatile over the past five years, says BizBuySell.com.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026

Median earnings for full-time male workers fell $690, while rising $1,900 for full-time female workers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

Median rent for a two-bedroom home was about $1,893 nationwide in July, not including utilities or insurance, and for a buyer today, the typical monthly mortgage payment, at current interest rates, was $2,641.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 15, 2026

Median wait times from diagnosis to the first course of treatment increased during the period for all cancers, ranging from nine to 14 days.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

Alexander Helios wore the native dress of the Median king.

From "Sterling Biographies®: Cleopatra: Egypt's Last and Greatest Queen" by Susan Blackaby

That could include policies like forced medians, distribution guidelines or being transparent about grades given.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 25, 2026

Overall survival also differed significantly, with medians of 42 months and 14 months, respectively.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 8, 2025

As former Fed economist Claudia Sahm has written, “The medians in the SEP aren’t the Fed forecast and never will be.”

From Barron's ● Oct. 27, 2025

Throngs of people precariously stand on the medians as high-speed traffic whizzes by.

From BBC ● Apr. 20, 2025

Aberdeen Gardens, the sprawling development built on former Hampton Institute farmland, was another desirable location, its wide streets with grassy medians and surrounding forests drawing many active-duty and retired military families.

From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly