average

av|e|rage¹ W2S2 [ˈævərıdʒ] adj

1.) the average amount is the amount you get when you add together several quantities and divide this by the total number of quantities

▪ The age of the candidates ranged from 29 to 49 with an average age of 37.

▪ The average cost of making a movie has risen by 15%.

▪ Last winter was colder than average.

▪ The cars were being sold at an average price of $11000.

2.) an average amount or quantity is not unusually big or small

▪ They have an average-size front garden and a large rear garden.

of average height/build/intelligence etc

▪ He was in his late twenties and of average height.

3.) having qualities that are typical of most people or things

▪ The average American has not even thought about next year's election.

▪ In an average week I drive about 250 miles.

4.) neither very good nor very bad

average ²

average² S2 n

[Date: 1700-1800; Origin: average '(fair sharing out of costs resulting from) damage to or loss of a ship or the goods it carries' (15-20 centuries), from French avarie, from Arabic 'awariyah 'damaged goods']

1.)

the amount calculated by adding together several quantities, and then dividing this amount by the total number of quantities

average of

▪ The average of 3, 8 and 10 is 7.

▪ Each person raised an average of £60 to plant an acre of trees.

▪ The December figures brought the annual average for 2001 up to 10.6 per cent.

2.) on average

based on a calculation about how many times something usually happens, how much money someone usually gets, how often people usually do something etc

▪ On average, men still earn more than women.

▪ Nearly 80% of Swiss citizens on average turn out to vote.

3.) [U and C]

the usual level or amount for most people or things

▪ Streets in the town centre are wider than the average.

above/below average

▪ The school's eighth-graders are above average in science.

▪ The murder rate in the city has risen to four times the national average .

→law of averages at ↑law

average ³

average³ v [linking verb]

1.) to usually do something or usually happen a particular number of times, or to usually be a particular size or amount

▪ The water in the lake is not particularly deep, averaging about 12 metres.

▪ The airport averages about a thousand flights a month.

▪ Inflation averaged just under 2.8% per year.

2.) to calculate the average of figures

▪ The rate of growth was averaged over a period of three years.

average out phr v

1.) if something averages out at a particular figure, it has that figure as an average over a period of time

average out at

▪ Training costs for last year averaged out at £5,100 per trainee.

▪ The government's share of the cost was intended to average out at 25%.

2.) average sth<=>out

to calculate the average of something

▪ I averaged out the total increase at about 10%.