statistics
(used with a singular verb) the science that deals with the collection, classification, analysis, and interpretation of numerical facts or data, and that, by use of mathematical theories of probability, imposes order and regularity on aggregates of more or less disparate elements.
(used with a plural verb) the numerical facts or data themselves.
Origin of statistics
1Words Nearby statistics
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use statistics in a sentence
The country’s statistics office specifically gave shout-outs to the computer chips sector in reporting its advance estimates of economic data last week, crediting “strong demand for parts of electronics products” in propelling the growth of exports.
Semiconductors helped make Taiwan Asia’s top-performing economy in 2020 | Mary Hui | February 3, 2021 | QuartzAfter initially proposing to expand the five-month post-count processing period, the government condensed it to about half that amount of time, causing alarm among statistics experts who warned it could result in an inaccurate count.
Lawmaker assails Commerce Dept. over failure to respond to questions about 2020 Census anomalies | Tara Bahrampour | December 3, 2020 | Washington PostThe national statistics agency said earlier this week that the impact of the Covid crisis will dent life expectancy in Sweden, after over a century of almost uninterrupted growth.
Suddenly, Swedes are ‘very worried’ that the ‘herd immunity’ strategy is no match for COVID | kdunn6 | November 26, 2020 | FortuneWhen it comes to search engine market share in China, only traditional search engines like Baidu and Sogou will be classified in the landscape by all the statistics providers.
Only 10 percent of high school students take a statistics class — and even most statistics courses are primarily theoretical rather than requiring students to get their hands dirty with data.
America’s Math Curriculum Doesn’t Add Up (Ep. 391) | Steven D. Levitt | October 3, 2019 | Freakonomics
So however detailed the statistics of the battlefield are, they cannot achieve the goal.
Pentagon Doesn’t Know How Many People It’s Killed in the ISIS War | Nancy A. Youssef | January 7, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTA hard look at campus rape statistics, the collapse of The New Republic and the day John Lennon died.
The Daily Beast’s Best Longreads, Dec 8-14, 2014 | William Boot | December 13, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTWhat is much more important than these numbers is an internal dynamic for which there are no statistics.
In fact, what this map really showed was the fallacy of aggregates – and how statistics can mask real cultural shifts.
In the face of those statistics, these two non-indictments are glaring.
First Mike Brown, Then Eric Garner: Prosecutors Can’t Be Trusted to Try Cops | Sally Kohn | December 3, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTGottfried Achenwall, an eminent German lecturer on statistics, history and the laws of nature, died at Gttingen.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology | Joel MunsellHe published several volumes on political economy, and was much interested in statistics.
The Every Day Book of History and Chronology | Joel MunsellWell pleased was Mr. Wainwright to see that statistics took my fancy.
Fifty Years of Railway Life in England, Scotland and Ireland | Joseph TatlowThese statistics were of much practical use when considering questions of economy and other matters from day to day.
Fifty Years of Railway Life in England, Scotland and Ireland | Joseph TatlowI was soon surprised to find that I too had a taste for statistics and acquired some skill in their compilation.
Fifty Years of Railway Life in England, Scotland and Ireland | Joseph Tatlow
British Dictionary definitions for statistics
/ (stəˈtɪstɪks) /
(functioning as plural) quantitative data on any subject, esp data comparing the distribution of some quantity for different subclasses of the population: statistics for earnings by different age groups
(functioning as singular)
the classification and interpretation of such data in accordance with probability theory and the application of methods such as hypothesis testing to them
the mathematical study of the theoretical nature of such distributions and tests: See also descriptive statistics, statistical inference
Origin of statistics
1Collins 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 statistics
[ stə-tĭs′tĭks ]
Used with a singular verb The branch of mathematics that deals with the collection, organization, analysis, and interpretation of numerical data. Statistics is especially useful in drawing general conclusions about a set of data from a sample of the data.
Used with a plural verb Numerical data.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Cultural definitions for statistics
The branch of mathematics dealing with numerical data. (See mean, median, mode, normal distribution curve, sample, standard deviation, and statistical significance.)
Notes for statistics
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.
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