average

average
1 adjective
1 (only before noun) the average amount is the amount you get when you add together several quantities and divide this by the total number of quantities: Average earnings in the state are about $1500 a month. | What's the average rainfall for July? | an average speed of 200 kph
2 an average amount or quantity is not unusually big or small: (of) average height/build/intelligence etc (=not tall or short, fat or thin etc): I'd say he was of average height.
3 having qualities that are typical of most people or things: The average student spends about two or three hours a night doing homework. | In an average week I drive about 250 miles.
4 neither very good nor very bad: There was nothing special about the film - it was just average.
2 noun
1 (C) the amount calculated by adding together several quantities, and then dividing this amount by the total number of quantities: The average of 3, 8 and 10 is 7. | House prices have gone up by an average of 2%.
2 on average based on a calculation about how many times something usually happens, how much money someone usually gets, how often people usually do something etc: On average men smoke more cigarettes than women. | Japanese people on average live much longer than Europeans.
3 (C, U) the usual level or amount for most people or things in a group: above/below average (=better or worse than average): Susie's school work is well above average. | the national average: I suppose the national average is about $20,000 per year.
-see also: law of averages law (11) 3 verb (linking verb)
1 to usually do something or usually happen a particular number of times, or to usually be a particular size or amount: I suppose I average about five cups of coffee a day. | The fish averages about two inches in length.
2 to calculate the average of figures
average out phrasal verb
1 to calculate the usual number of times that something happens, the usual size of something, or the average amount of a group of figures: I averaged out the total increase at about 10%.
2 (linking verb + to/at) to usually result in a particular number or amount: The weekly profits average out at about $1000.

Longman dictionary of contemporary English. 2004.

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Synonyms:
, , , , , , , , / , , , , , , (when the mean is taken), , , , , , , ,


Look at other dictionaries:

  • average — n Average, mean, median, norm, par denote something and usually a number, a quantity, or a condition that represents a middle point between extremes. Of these words average, mean, median, and par are also used as adjectives. Average is an… …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • average — [av′ər ij, av′rij] n. [altered (by assoc. with ME average, money rent paid in place of service by the tenant with his horses < aver, draft horse) < OFr avarie, damage to ship or goods, mooring charges < OIt avaria < Ar ʿ awār, damaged …   English World dictionary

  • average — I (midmost) adjective center, centermost, intermediate, mean, mean proportioned, medial, median, mediate, medium, mid, middle, middle class, middle grade, middlemost, middling associated concepts: average annual earnings or wages, average capital …   Law dictionary

  • Average — Av er*age, n. [OF. average, LL. averagium, prob. fr. OF. aver, F. avoir, property, horses, cattle, etc.; prop. infin., to have, from L. habere to have. Cf. F. av[ e]rage small cattle, and avarie (perh. of different origin) damage to ship or cargo …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Average — Av er*age, a. 1. Pertaining to an average or mean; medial; containing a mean proportion; of a mean size, quality, ability, etc.; ordinary; usual; as, an average rate of profit; an average amount of rain; the average Englishman; beings of the… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Average — Av er*age, v. i. To form, or exist in, a mean or medial sum or quantity; to amount to, or to be, on an average; as, the losses of the owners will average twenty five dollars each; these spars average ten feet in length. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • average — [adj1] normal, typical boilerplate*, common, commonplace, customary, dime a dozen*, everyday, fair, fair to middling*, familiar, garden*, garden variety*, general, humdrum*, intermediate, mainstream, mediocre, medium, middle of the road*,… …   New thesaurus

  • average — ► NOUN 1) the result obtained by adding several amounts together and then dividing the total by the number of amounts. 2) a usual amount or level. ► ADJECTIVE 1) constituting an average. 2) usual or ordinary. 3) mediocre. ► …   English terms dictionary

  • Average — Av er*age, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Averaged} (?); p. pr. & vb. n. {Averaging}.] 1. To find the mean of, when sums or quantities are unequal; to reduce to a mean. [1913 Webster] 2. To divide among a number, according to a given proportion; as, to… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • avérage — 1. (a vé ra j ) s. m. Terme de commerce. La moyenne avérée, vraie, reconnue telle, et en général la moyenne. Sur trois ans l avérage a été de.... ÉTYMOLOGIE    Avérer. avérage 2. (entrée créée par le supplément) (a vé ra j ) s. m. Nom, dans le… …   Dictionnaire de la Langue Française d'Émile Littré

  • average — (del inglés; pronunciamos averás ) sustantivo masculino 1. Área: deporte Promedio, término medio: Gana el Barcelona por gol average …   Diccionario Salamanca de la Lengua Española

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