outlier
noun
out·li·er
ˈau̇t-ˌlī(-ə)r 
1
: a person whose residence and place of business are at a distance
His house was a place of refuge for outliers.
2
: something (such as a geologic feature) that is situated away from or classed differently from a main or related body
The island is an outlier on the southeast side of the archipelago.
3
a
: a statistical observation that is markedly different in value from the others of the sample
Values that are outliers give disproportionate weight to larger over smaller values.
b
: a person or thing that is atypical within a particular group, class, or category
She was an outlier when she launched her cruelty-free, sustainably minded brand in 2001, but has found the centre of gravity shifting in her direction.—
Jess Cartner-Morley
Jess Cartner-MorleyAmong the world's wealthy nations, the United States is an outlier on this issue: Americans have the lowest national minimum wage, relative to the median wage, of any of the wealthy nations represented in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.—Christopher Ingraham
Christopher IngrahamExamples of outlier in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The lighter colorway was also another perk in its favor, proving to be a stylish outlier among its meshy, all-black peers.
—Audrey Lee, Architectural Digest, 31 Mar. 2025
In the age of NIL and the transfer, Richard is also an outlier.
—Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 28 Mar. 2025
The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing focused on pretrial delays later that month, when court system General Counsel Nancy Meade told legislators that the cases recently highlighted in news stories were unacceptable but were outliers among criminal cases.
—Kyle Hopkins, ProPublica, 27 Mar. 2025
Forest’s success this season is an outlier, albeit everything has fallen neatly into place.
—Matt Woosnam, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for outlier
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Audrey Lee, Architectural Digest, 31 Mar. 2025
In the age of NIL and the transfer, Richard is also an outlier.
—Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 28 Mar. 2025
The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing focused on pretrial delays later that month, when court system General Counsel Nancy Meade told legislators that the cases recently highlighted in news stories were unacceptable but were outliers among criminal cases.
—Kyle Hopkins, ProPublica, 27 Mar. 2025
Forest’s success this season is an outlier, albeit everything has fallen neatly into place.
—Matt Woosnam, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for outlier
Cite this Entry
“Outlier.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/outlier. Accessed 4 Apr. 2025.
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