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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
Jonathan Lansner, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Sep. 2023
The legislation prohibits using drinking water for purely decorative grass along roads, in medians and outside businesses and in common areas of homeowners associations.
—Ian James, Los Angeles Times, 13 Sep. 2023
Students in Maryland were generally performing at or below the median among the 50 states in reading and math when the bill was making its way through the legislature.
—Hannah Gaskill, Baltimore Sun, 13 Sep. 2023
Affordable housing units are units marketed at either 60% or 80% of area median income, according to the ordinance.
—Corey Schmidt, Chicago Tribune, 11 Sep. 2023
Meanwhile 42% of upper-income people, those making 120% of the area median income, were able to work from home in 2021 and that number did not change in 2023.
—Anna Bahney, CNN, 3 Sep. 2023
When completed, the apartments will be available for households earning up to 60 percent of the area median income, which is about $53,000 annually for a family of four.
—Alexa Gagosz, BostonGlobe.com, 23 Aug. 2023
The road was closed to civilians but an endless stream of police cars and ambulances with sirens wailing tore north, up the dusty median, toward the beleaguered town.
—Jack Dolan, Craig Nakano and Matt Hamilton, Anchorage Daily News, 13 Aug. 2023
The first phase will have 10% of the units set aside for those earning 80% or less of the area median income.
—Haeven Gibbons, Dallas News, 5 Sep. 2023
Victoria Stavish, Baltimore Sun, 18 Sep. 2023
Those closures sent insurance prices spiraling out of control, in both absolute terms and also in prices relative to local median incomes that are among the lowest in the nation.
—Leslie Kaufman, Anchorage Daily News, 17 Sep. 2023
Surveys show median wealth is five times lower for Latino families than their white counterparts.
—Terry Tang, Chicago Tribune, 15 Sep. 2023
The median income of Oregonians who left the state last year was just over $42,000, while newcomers had a median income of $36,000.
—Kristine De Leon, oregonlive, 14 Sep. 2023
Collin and Denton counties both had median household incomes above $100,000 while Dallas County came in at $70,852.
—Sasha Richie, Dallas News, 14 Sep. 2023
The state’s median home sales price is now about 6.26 times larger than its median household income, warned Dejan Eskic, a senior research fellow at Gardner.
—Tony Semerad, The Salt Lake Tribune, 13 Sep. 2023
While the share of individuals working full-time in the U.S. grew in 2022, median income decreased in that same period, according to U.S. Census Bureau data released on Tuesday.
—Paige McGlauflin, Fortune, 13 Sep. 2023
The median household income in Alabama is $54,943 -- nearly $14,000 less than the national average -- but in many communities across the state, the median income is far higher.
—Warren Kulo | Wkulo@al.com, al, 6 Sep. 2023
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'median.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Noun
Middle English mediane, from Late Latin mediana (vena) median (vein), from feminine of Latin medianus in the middle, central, from medius middle — more at mid
Adjective
Latin medianus — see median entry 1
Noun
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Adjective
1592, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Phrases Containing 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 25 Sep. 2023.
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Kids 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
More from Merriam-Webster on median
Nglish: Translation of median for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of median for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about median
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