average

Everyday

1. The average (mean) is the number you get when you share a total equally: add the numbers, then divide by how many there are. tree →
2. Average means usual or ordinary, not special. tree →
3. To average a number is to have it as the average: «He averages 10 points a game». tree →

In the lessons

a mean: the sum of the values divided by their count; in everyday life, average temperature, average height, average speed; phrases «on average», «above average», «below average»

Examples

• The average of 4, 6 and 8 is 6. tree →
• She scored an average of 80 points. tree →
• The average class has 25 pupils. tree →
• On average he reads 15 pages a day. tree →
• July has the highest average temperature. tree →
• It was just an average day. tree →
• Her marks are above average. tree →
• The car averaged 50 miles an hour. tree →
• The average of 2, 3 and 10 is 5. tree →
• An average adult sleeps about 8 hours. tree →

Note

Average = total ÷ number of values; total = average × number. Trap: you cannot average two averages if the groups are different sizes. The average does not have to be one of the numbers. Mean, median and mode are different kinds of average.