averaging out

av·er·age

[av-er-ij, av-rij] noun, adjective, verb, av·er·aged, av·er·ag·ing.
noun
1.
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. arithmetic mean.
4.
Mathematics. a quantity intermediate to a set of quantities.
5.
Commerce.
a.
a charge paid by the master of a ship for such services as pilotage or towage.
b.
an expense, partial loss, or damage to a ship or cargo.
c.
the incidence of such an expense or loss to the owners or their insurers.
d.
an equitable apportionment among all the interested parties of such an expense or loss. Compare general average, particular average.
adjective
6.
of or pertaining to an average; estimated by average; forming an average: The average rainfall there is 180 inches.
7.
typical; common; ordinary: The average secretary couldn't handle such a workload. His grades were nothing special, only average.
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verb (used with object)
8.
to find an average value for (a variable quantity); reduce to a mean: We averaged the price of milk in five neighborhood stores.
9.
(of a variable quantity) to have as its arithmetic mean: Wheat averages 56 pounds to a bushel.
10.
to do or have on the average: He averages seven hours of sleep a night.
verb (used without object)
11.
to have or show an average: to average as expected.
Verb phrases
12.
average down, to purchase more of a security or commodity at a lower price to reduce the average cost of one's holdings.
13.
average out,
a.
to come out of a security or commodity transaction with a profit or without a loss.
b.
to reach an average or other figure: His taxes should average out to about a fifth of his income.
14.
average up, to purchase more of a security or commodity at a higher price to take advantage of a contemplated further rise in prices.
Idioms
15.
on the/an average, usually; typically: She can read 50 pages an hour, on the average.
Origin:
1485–95; earlier averay charge on goods shipped, orig. duty (< Middle French avarie < Old Italian avaria < Arabic ʿawārīyah damaged merchandise), with -age replacing -ay

Related forms
av·er·age·a·ble, adjective
av·er·age·ly, adverb
av·er·age·ness, noun
sub·av·er·age, adjective
sub·av·er·age·ly, adverb
su·per·av·er·age, adjective
su·per·av·er·age·ness, noun
un·av·er·aged, adjective
un·der·av·er·age, adjective
well-av·er·aged, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Collins
World English Dictionary
average (ˈævərɪdʒ, ˈævrɪdʒ) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
—n
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: his average over the journey was 30 miles per hour
4.  maritime law
 a.  a loss incurred or damage suffered by a ship or its cargo at sea
 b.  the equitable apportionment of such loss among the interested parties
5.  (often plural) stock exchange a simple or weighted average of the prices of a selected group of securities computed in order to facilitate market comparisons
6.  on average, on the average, on an average usually; typically: on average, he goes twice a week
 
—adj
7.  usual or typical
8.  mediocre or inferior: his performance was only average
9.  constituting a numerical average: the average age; an average speed
10.  approximately typical of a range of values: the average contents of a matchbox
 
—vb
11.  (tr) to obtain or estimate a numerical average of
12.  (tr) to assess the general quality of
13.  (tr) to perform or receive a typical number of: to average eight hours' work a day
14.  (tr) to divide up proportionately: they averaged the profits among the staff
15.  (tr) to amount to or be on average: the children averaged 15 years of age
16.  (intr) stock exchange to purchase additional securities in a holding whose price has fallen (average down) or risen (average up) in anticipation of a speculative profit after further increases in price
 
[C15 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]
 
'averagely
 
—adv
 
averageness
 
—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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Etymonline
Word Origin & History

average
late 15c., "financial loss incurred through damage to goods in transit," from O.Fr. avarie "damage to ship," from It. avaria, a word from 12c. Mediterranean maritime trade. Sometimes traced to Arabic 'arwariya "damaged merchandise," but this might as easily be a borrowing of the word from the Franks.
OED suggests It. avere, O.Fr. aveir "property, goods," from L. habere "to have." Meaning shifted to "equal sharing of such loss by the interested parties." Transferred sense of "statement of a medial estimate" is first recorded 1735. The adjective is first recorded 1770; the verb is from 1769. The mathematical extension is from 1755.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

average av·er·age (āv'ər-ĭj, āv'rĭj)
n.

  1. A number that typifies a set of numbers of which it is a function.

  2. See arithmetic mean.

  3. An intermediate level or degree.

adj.

  1. Of, relating to, or constituting an average.

  2. Being intermediate between extremes, as on a scale.

v. av·er·aged, av·er·ag·ing, av·er·ag·es

  1. To calculate the average of.

  2. To do or have an average of.

  3. To distribute proportionately, as over a period of time.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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American Heritage
Science Dictionary
average   (āv'ər-ĭj)  Pronunciation Key 
A number, especially the arithmetic mean, that is derived from and considered typical or representative of a set of numbers. Compare arithmetic mean, median, mode.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Cultural Dictionary

average definition


A single number that represents a set of numbers. Means, medians, and modes are kinds of averages; usually, however, the term average refers to a mean.

The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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