average

UK: /ˈævərɪdʒ/ US: /ˈævərɪdʒ, ˈævrɪdʒ/ ,(av′ər ij, av′rij)

Inflections of 'average' (v): (⇒ conjugate)

averages

v 3rd person singular

averaging

v pres p

averaged

v past

averaged

v past p

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

av•er•age /ˈævərɪdʒ, ˈævrɪdʒ/   n., adj., v., -aged, -ag•ing. 
n. 

1. Mathematics, the number that results from adding several quantities together and then dividing that total by the number of quantities that were added;
   arithmetic mean:
   [countable] Their high-school averages were very high, usually 97 or above.
2. a typical, usual, or normal amount, rate, degree, level, etc.: [countable; usually singular]
   The people in that village lived for an average of seventy years.
   [uncountable] Her work is well above average.

adj. 

3. [before a noun] of, relating to, or forming an average:
   The average rainfall is only six inches a year.
4. typical;
   common;
   ordinary:
   [before a noun] the average person.
5. of middle quality;
   fair:
   got only average grades in school.

v. 

6. to find an average of:
   [~ + object] She averaged the scores of her last three tests and came up with 93.
7. to do, have, or get on the average:
   [~ + object] to average seven hours of sleep a night.
8. Business average out, [ + out (+ to + object)]]
   • to reach or show an average:
     My taxes average out to a third of my income. I earn different amounts each month, but it usually averages out.

Idioms

9. Idioms on the or an average, usually;
   typically:
   On the average I see about ten students a day.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

av•er•age  (av′ər ij, av′rij), n., adj., v., -aged, -ag•ing. 
n. 

1. Mathematics a quantity, rating, or the like that represents or approximates an arithmetic mean:
   Her golf average is in the 90s. My average in science has gone from B to C this semester.
2. a typical amount, rate, degree, etc.;
   norm.
3. Statistics, Mathematics See arithmetic mean. 
4. Mathematics a quantity intermediate to a set of quantities.
5. Business [Com.]
   • a charge paid by the master of a ship for such services as pilotage or towage.
   • an expense, partial loss, or damage to a ship or cargo.
   • the incidence of such an expense or loss to the owners or their insurers.
   • an equitable apportionment among all the interested parties of such an expense or loss. Cf. general average, particular average.
6. on the or an average, usually;
   typically:
   She can read 50 pages an hour, on the average.

adj. 

7. of or pertaining to an average;
   estimated by average;
   forming an average:
   The average rainfall there is 180 inches.
8. typical;
   common;
   ordinary:
   The average secretary couldn't handle such a workload. His grades were nothing special, only average.

v.t. 

9. to find an average value for (a variable quantity);
   reduce to a mean:
   We averaged the price of milk in five neighborhood stores.
10. (of a variable quantity) to have as its arithmetic mean:
    Wheat averages 56 pounds to a bushel.
11. to do or have on the average:
    He averages seven hours of sleep a night.

v.i. 

12. to have or show an average:
    to average as expected.
13. Law average down, to purchase more of a security or commodity at a lower price to reduce the average cost of one's holdings.
14. Law average out:
    • to come out of a security or commodity transaction with a profit or without a loss.
    • to reach an average or other figure:
      His taxes should average out to about a fifth of his income.
15. Law average up, to purchase more of a security or commodity at a higher price to take advantage of a contemplated further rise in prices.

• Arabic ‘awārīyah damaged merchandise), with -age replacing -ay
• Old Italian avaria
• Middle French avarie
• earlier averay charge on goods shipped, origin, originally duty (1485–95

av′er•age•a•ble, adj. 
av′er•age•ly, adv. 
av′er•age•ness, n. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

average / ˈævərɪdʒ ˈævrɪdʒ/ noun

1. the typical or normal amount, quality, degree, etc: above average in intelligence
2. Also called: arithmetic mean the result obtained by adding the numbers or quantities in a set and dividing the total by the number of members in the set: the average of 3, 4, and 8 is 5
3. (of a continuously variable ratio, such as speed) the quotient of the differences between the initial and final values of the two quantities that make up the ratio
4. a loss incurred or damage suffered by a ship or its cargo at sea
5. the equitable apportionment of such loss among the interested parties
6. on average, on the average, on an average ⇒ usually; typically

adjective

1. usual or typical
2. mediocre or inferior: his performance was only average
3. constituting a numerical average: the average age, an average speed
4. approximately typical of a range of values: the average contents of a matchbox

verb

1. (transitive) to obtain or estimate a numerical average of
2. (transitive) to assess the general quality of
3. (transitive) to perform or receive a typical number of: to average eight hours' work a day
4. (transitive) to divide up proportionately
5. (transitive) to amount to or be on average: the children averaged 15 years of age

Etymology: 15th Century averay loss arising from damage to ships or cargoes (shared equitably among all concerned; hence the modern sense), from Old Italian avaria, ultimately from Arabic awār damage, blemish

ˈaveragely adverb

ˈaverageness noun