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View synonyms for median

median

1

[ mee-dee-uhn ]

noun

  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. Compare central tendency.


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

[ mee-dee-uhn ]

adjective

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

noun

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

median

/ 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
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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 calledchiefly Britcentral reservation the strip, often covered with grass, that separates the two sides of a highway
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

median

/ 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.


median

1
  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 .)


median

2
  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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Derived Forms

  • ˈmedianly, adverb
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Other Words From

  • medi·an·ly adverb
  • post·medi·an adjective
  • pre·medi·an noun adjective
  • sub·medi·an adjective
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Word History and Origins

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
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Word History and Origins

Origin of median1

C16: from Latin mediānus, from medius middle
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Example Sentences

The median household income in many of the affected Louisiana parishes is below $50,000, with poverty rates upwards of 15 percent.

The baseline refers to the median day-value between January 3 and February 6, 2020.

Back in the first half of 2016, the share of nonbrand paid search clicks attributed as broad matches in Google search query reports was up above 25% for the median advertiser.

At the end of April, people were tested at a rate 60 percent higher in areas where the median household income was in the top quartile versus the bottom quartile.

The median price of homes listed right now in Andersonville is $451,443.

This would restore overtime rights to workers earning up to around $50,000 a year, which is roughly the current median.

Unlike most other telemarketers, they have a median net worth of almost $900,000.

Median household income peaked in America in 1999, under Bill Clinton, at $56,080.

The median household income in inflation-adjusted dollars back in 1987 was… well, what do you think?

This chart lists median household income in the United States for every year going back to 1967, when it started being measured.

The epigynum consists of a long epigastric furrow with a large lip-like opening near its median line.

Propodeum openly rugoso-punctate, the median channel single, distinct, no median basin.

Cephalothorax suboval, upper margin strongly concave at the sides and tapering to a point at the median line.

Median Stress, where force is applied to the middle of the concrete, producing a swell, or impressive fulness.

In brief—distinct grounds, and vivid circular or cycloid figures, of no meaning, are here Median laws.

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Median Vs. Mean Vs. Mode Vs. Average

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.

Quiz yourself on median vs. mean vs. mode vs. average!

Should median, mean, mode, or average be used in the following sentence?

The most frequently repeated test score is 80, so it’s the _____ of the set.

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