Did you know?
People often use the word average without realizing that there are two common forms of average. Suppose you want to find the average net worth of a group of people—that is, the average value of everything they possess. To find one type of average, called the mean, you'd simply add up the total value of money and property of everyone in the group and divide it by the number of people. To find the other type, called the median, you'd identify the net worth of the person who is richer than half the people and poorer than the other half. So if Warren Buffett drove through a tiny village in India, the mean net worth of those in the village would suddenly rise to perhaps a billion dollars, but their median net worth would remain close to zero. Which figure would be more meaningful?
Synonyms
Examples of median in a Sentence
Jasmine Cui, NBC News, 10 Nov. 2024
That figure for 2024 was a median of $120 per month out-of-pocket on benefits, excluding retirement savings, and an average of $223 per month.
—Cheryl Winokur Munk, CNBC, 4 Nov. 2024
Megan Ulu-Lani Boyanton, The Denver Post, 16 Nov. 2024
With a population of 9,000 residents, the city of Tuskegee has a median household income of $32,000.
—Marquise Francis, NBC News, 12 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for median 
Articles Related to median
Dictionary Entries Near median
Cite this Entry
“Median.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/median. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
median
1 of 2 noun
median
2 of 2 adjectiveNoun
from Latin mediana vena "median vein (a large vein in the arm)," from earlier Latin medianus "being in the middle," from medius "middle" — related to intermediate, mean entry 3, meridian
Medical Definition
median
1 of 2 noun
median
2 of 2 adjective
Share