median

[ mee-dee-uhn ]
See synonyms for median on Thesaurus.com
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.

  1. 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.

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

Origin of median

1
First recorded in 1535–45, median is from the Latin word mediānus in the middle. See medium, -an

Other words from median

  • me·di·an·ly, adverb
  • post·me·di·an, adjective
  • pre·me·di·an, noun, adjective
  • sub·me·di·an, adjective

Other definitions for Median (2 of 2)

Median
[ 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.

Origin of Median

2
First recorded in 1595–1605; Medi(a) + -an

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

British Dictionary definitions for median

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

  1. statistics of or relating to the median

noun
  1. a middle point, plane, or part

  2. geometry

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

    • a straight line joining the midpoints of the nonparallel sides of a trapezium

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

  2. 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

  3. Also called: (chiefly Brit) central reservation Canadian the strip, often covered with grass, that separates the two sides of a highway

Origin of median

1
C16: from Latin mediānus, from medius middle

Derived forms of median

  • medianly, adverb

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

Scientific definitions for median

median

[ dē-ən ]


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

    • 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.

    • 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). Compare arithmetic mean average mode.

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

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Cultural definitions for median (1 of 2)

median

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

median

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.)

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