From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishaverageav‧e‧rage1 /ˈævərɪdʒ/ ●●● S2 W2 adjective 1 COUNT/CALCULATEthe 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 $11,000.2 USUALLYan 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 ORDINARYhaving 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.► see thesaurus at normal4 GOOD/EXCELLENTneither very good nor very bad
Examples from the Corpus
average• There is concern that twenty years from now, the average American won't be able to afford to send his or her children to college.• The fishing is average around there - nothing special.• The average bagel has 190 calories.• Men are not equipped with gorgeous ornaments or stereotyped courtship rituals, however it may look in the average discotheque.• Packers reply that their average earnings are less than 1 percent of their sales.• The average family spends about £50 a week on food.• The government also considered the drop in drilling costs -- and rising output from the average gas discovery.• In southern California the average number of passengers per journey is 1.13.• The laws were simplified so that the average person could understand.• The average price for a Gulls game is $ 9.• an average price of $9,000• What's the average rainfall in this area?• Anglers from Foyle, Ballymena and Moville experienced almost constant action, although the average size of fish taken was small.• Foreign affairs do not usually interest the average voter.• In an average week, I drive about 250 miles.• In an average week I watch about 20 hours of TV.average price• In that case the rational expectation of the average price level must be P 2.• P is the average price of all transactions and T is the number of transactions that take place during the time period.• Industry newsletters report, meantime, that the average price of flat products has fallen by 7 percent this month.• The average price of these was a little over £26.• Some contracts were, on average, overpriced; while for others the average price was too low.• On average prices were around 25 percent lower between 1720 and 1780 than they had been between 1660 and 1680.of average height/build/intelligence etc• Both the attackers are dark skinned and of average build.• But very slim and of average height.• The suspect was described as a white male of average height and weight between 25 to 32 years old.• She was a beautiful girl of average height, fine boned and blue eyed.• Anyone of average intelligence might wonder: Who ordained these traits?• Speaking rapidly into Nick's ear was a man of average height, slightly tanned and with high cheek-bones.• He was a burly man of average height, white-haired and distinguished looking. averageaverage2 ●●● S2 W2 noun 1 [countable]COUNT/CALCULATE the amount calculated by adding together several quantities, and then dividing this amount by the total number of quantitiesaverage 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 average3 [countable, uncountable]GOOD/EXCELLENT 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(9)Examples from the Corpus
average• In the years between 1982 and 1988 the economy grew at an average of nearly 3 percent per year.• At an average of about $ 30 per seat, that would translate to $ 60 million in revenue.• It takes an average of nine months to get a green card application processed, officials said.• Share prices of the Dow Jones industrial average fell Friday by 55 points after an early plunge of 145 points.• Contractor recordable and lost time accident rates were also a fraction of the industry average.• Despite this tragedy, she graduated with the second highest grade point average in her high school.• Six weeks in the summer and two other holidays of three weeks are probably the average.• The average of 2,4, and 9 is 5.• By 1983 exports had doubled even compared with their average during the 1960s.the national average• Women-owned businesses in sectors such as manufacturing or construction are growing well above the national average.• The bottom band might include properties falling 50 percent below the national average, the top band those more than twice the average.• Income per head was just 36 percent of the national average in 1940; by 1994 it was 73 percent.• It's more than ten percent down on the national average.• Yet since 1995 the state's economy has grown by 32 %-nine percentage points faster than the national average.• Overall mortality was 23% lower than the national average for all causes of death and 18% lower for cancer.• Dallas investors, by contrast, were 20 percent more optimistic than the national average.• Only five were solved, for a 41. 7 percent clearance rate, less than two-thirds the national average.averageaverage3 ●●○ verb 1 USUALLY[linking verb] 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 COUNT/CALCULATE[transitive] to calculate the average of figures The rate of growth was averaged over a period of three years. → average out→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
average• Last year, Harris averaged 16 points in 31 starts after Jackson was lost for the season.• Van Horn finished his career as the top scorer in Utah history, averaging 20. 8 points.• However, he estimated that the cost will average $ 30 to $ 100 per detected mine.• Production and development Production in 1992 averaged 51,000 boepd.• The fish averages about two inches in length.• Postoperative values were similarly first averaged across the 40-min observation period and then among patients.• Since then its growth has averaged around 7 percent a year.• He averaged more than a sack per game the past three seasons.• Primary-care doctors said they averaged over 25 patients a day.• It so happens that this rate is exactly the output of the building industry, averaged over the previous three years.From Longman Business Dictionaryaverageav‧e‧rage1 /ˈævərɪdʒ/ adjective [only before a noun]1STATISTICSthe average amount is the amount you get when you add together several amounts and divide this by the number of amounts you have added togetherSYNMEANOil companies are basing their budgets on an average price of $20.40 a barrel.The electronics industry has increased output by an average rate of 14% a year.Average earnings in the state are about $2500 a month.2having qualities that are typical of most of the people or things in a groupThe average employee in Chicago must work 18 minutes to buy a hamburger.Coffee production in an average year here totals 450,000 tonnes.averageaverage2 noun1[countable]STATISTICS the amount calculated by adding together several amounts, and then dividing this amount by the total number of amounts added togetherSales in the various markets improved by an average of 40% last year.2on average based on a calculation of how many times something happens, how much money someone usually gets, how often people usually do something etcOn average, people in their 50s require 45% more drug prescriptions than people in their 30s.Visitors to Legoland on average spend $26 each.3[countable, uncountable] the usual level or amount for most people or things in a groupEmployee pay and benefits are above average here.Stockmarket volume was below average at 12.1 million shares traded.Tea productivity in Assam is over 2,000 kg a hectare, compared with a national average in India of 1,790 kg a hectare.4[countable usually singular]FINANCE a list of shares on a stock market, showing the general level of shares at a particular momentSYNINDEXThe industrial average (=shares in industrial companies on a particular stockmarket) surged 535.17 points, or 20.3%.5[uncountable]INSURANCE a loss relating to damage to a ship or the CARGO (=goods it is carrying) → general average → particular averageaverageaverage3 verb1[transitive] if something averages a particular amount or rate, that is its average amount or rateIn Europe, budget deficits average 5% of GDP.The store is averaging sales of $300,000 on an annual basis.2to calculate the average of a number of amountsThe new system works by averaging the payments made to local authorities. → average out→ See Verb tableOrigin average2 (1700-1800) 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” 