"Mean" has a precise mathematical definition (and in fact, there are several types) and you're very unlikely to hear it outside those contexts. "Average" is usually a colloquial term that usually means arithmetic mean, but can also mean "typical" or "neither good nor bad." Answer from StupidLemonEater on reddit.com
Merriam-Webster
merriam-webster.com › thesaurus › arithmetic mean
ARITHMETIC MEAN Synonyms: 14 Similar and Opposite Words | Merriam-Webster Thesaurus
1 month ago - Synonyms for ARITHMETIC MEAN: average, golden mean, middle ground, mean, middle, medium, midpoint, median; Antonyms of ARITHMETIC MEAN: maximum, minimum, utmost
Thesaurus.com
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7 Synonyms & Antonyms for ARITHMETIC MEAN | Thesaurus.com
Find 7 different ways to say ARITHMETIC MEAN, along with antonyms, related words, and example sentences at Thesaurus.com.
Another word for mean is Arithmetic Average Mid-point Frequency Distribution Question 14 (4 points) The Σ of x/n is the formula for computing the Mode Variance Median Mean Standard DeviationIf you know the Mean is 5 , and the Sum of the X scores is 25 , what is n ? 10 More information is needed 4 5 Question 17 (4 points) The square root of the standard
Another word for mean is Arithmetic Average Mid-point Frequency Distribution Question 14 (4 points) The Σ of x/n is the formula for computing the Mode Variance Median Mean Standard Deviation If you know the Mean is 5 , and the Sum of the X scores is 25 , what is n ? 10 More information is needed ... More on chegg.com
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What's the difference between"mean" and "average"
"Mean" has a precise mathematical definition (and in fact, there are several types) and you're very unlikely to hear it outside those contexts. "Average" is usually a colloquial term that usually means arithmetic mean, but can also mean "typical" or "neither good nor bad." More on reddit.com
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May 2, 2021Synonym for statistical meaning of "mode" - English Language & Usage Stack Exchange
Are there any synonyms for the term mode as used in statistics? the value that occurs most frequently in a given set of data. The term seems like one that is not user friendly and would not be More on english.stackexchange.com
if Busy Beaver eventually is independent of ZFC, does that mean it becomes larger than any computable number generated in ZFC?
A single integer can't really be non-computable. After all, you can just write it down, and to "compute" it later, you just have a Turing machine spit out those digits in order and then halt. Rather, the Busy Beaver function is uncomputable, meaning that there is no single Turing machine which can take any number n as input and return BB(n). Moreover, when people say "BB(745) is independent of ZFC," what they really mean is "for every natural number m, there is a natural number n > m such that the statement 'n = BB(745)' is undecidable in ZFC." Because there are some 745-state machines which do not halt but ZFC cannot prove they don't halt. EDIT: And yes, this means that BB grows faster than any computable function. If there were a computable function f that grew faster, then to compute BB(n), we could just run each n-state machine for f(n) steps. Any machine that doesn't halt by then never will, by hypothesis. But this would decide the halting problem. So there is no computable f where f(n) > BB(n) always (or even infinitely often). More on reddit.com
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August 19, 2025How is the word 'mean' distinct from other similar nouns?
Some common synonyms of mean are average, median, and norm. While all these words mean "something that represents a middle point," mean may be the simple average or it may represent value midway between two extremes.
// a high of 70° and a low of 50° give a mean of 60°
merriam-webster.com
merriam-webster.com › thesaurus › mean
MEAN Synonyms: 801 Similar and Opposite Words | Merriam-Webster ...
When could 'median' be used to replace 'mean'?
While the synonyms median and mean are close in meaning, median applies to the value that represents the point at which there are as many instances above as there are below.
// average of a group of persons earning 3, 4, 5, 8, and 10 dollars an hour is 6 dollars, whereas the median is 5 dollars
merriam-webster.com
merriam-webster.com › thesaurus › mean
MEAN Synonyms: 801 Similar and Opposite Words | Merriam-Webster ...
When is it sensible to use 'norm' instead of 'mean'?
The words norm and mean can be used in similar contexts, but norm means the average of performance of a significantly large group, class, or grade.
// scores about the norm for fifth grade arithmetic
merriam-webster.com
merriam-webster.com › thesaurus › mean
MEAN Synonyms: 801 Similar and Opposite Words | Merriam-Webster ...
Math Answers
math.answers.com › other-math › What_is_another_name_for_the_mathematical_term_average
What is another name for the mathematical term average? - Answers
April 28, 2022 - mean. and mode is the most appeared number in a set of data and the median is when u place all the numbers in order from least to greatest then find the middle one. ... Mathematical term for average is usually arithmetic MEAN.
WordHippo
wordhippo.com › what-is › another-word-for › arithmetic_mean.html
What is another word for "arithmetic mean"?
Synonyms for arithmetic mean include average, expectation, mean, average value, simple average, standard, par, norm, normal and mode. Find more similar words at wordhippo.com!
Chegg
chegg.com › math › statistics and probability › statistics and probability questions and answers › another word for mean is arithmetic average mid-point frequency distribution question 14 (4 points) the σ of x/n is the formula for computing the mode variance median mean standard deviationif you know the mean is 5 , and the sum of the x scores is 25 , what is n ? 10 more information is needed 4 5 question 17 (4 points) the square root of the standard
Solved Another word for mean is Arithmetic Average Mid-point | Chegg.com
July 20, 2022 - Another word for the mean is Arithmetic average.
Reddit
reddit.com › r/englishlearning › what's the difference between"mean" and "average"
r/EnglishLearning on Reddit: What's the difference between"mean" and "average"
May 2, 2021 -
Is different using both terms colloquially vs using them in an academic setting?
Top answer 1 of 5
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"Mean" has a precise mathematical definition (and in fact, there are several types) and you're very unlikely to hear it outside those contexts. "Average" is usually a colloquial term that usually means arithmetic mean, but can also mean "typical" or "neither good nor bad."
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These generally mean exactly the same thing. You generally wouldn't use the word "mean" outside of a mathematics scenario.
Quora
quora.com › How-do-the-words-median-mean-average-and-mode-relate-to-each-other-What-is-the-difference-in-meaning-between-them-all
How do the words median, mean, average, and mode relate to each other? What is the difference in meaning between them all? - Quora
Answer (1 of 4): They're all used in statistics to get an idea of what the numbers are telling you. Median: the middle number. (Think median as the thing in the middle of the road or medium, the middle size).
Merriam-Webster
merriam-webster.com › thesaurus › mean
MEAN Synonyms: 801 Similar and Opposite Words | Merriam-Webster Thesaurus
September 16, 2025 - Some common synonyms of mean are average, median, and norm. While all these words mean "something that represents a middle point," mean may be the simple average or it may represent value midway between two extremes.
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Mean
Mean - Wikipedia
September 29, 2025 - A mean is a quantity representing the "center" of a collection of numbers and is intermediate to the extreme values of the set of numbers. There are several kinds of means (or "measures of central tendency") in mathematics, especially in statistics. Each attempts to summarize or typify a given ...
Investopedia
investopedia.com › terms › m › mean.asp
What Is a Mean? Types and Formulas
May 10, 2025 - While the mean is a good tool to ... to get a better and broader picture of an investment’s historical and future returns. Yes. A mean is the mathematical average of a set of two or more numbers. The mean is another word for a mathematical ...
YouTube
youtube.com › mathantics
Math Antics - Mean, Median and Mode - YouTube
Learn More at mathantics.com Visit http://www.mathantics.com for more Free math videos and additional subscription based content
Published March 3, 2017 Views 2M
Third Space Learning
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What Is Mean In Math? Examples & Questions For Primary School
September 28, 2022 - Includes two lists, one for words students should know by the end of 2nd grade, one by the end of 5th grade Download free · A personal math tutor for every student that needs it · "This innovative one-on-one math tutoring solution offers a cost-effective alternative to traditional one-on-one tutoring." Meet Skye ... Hundreds of free math resources created by experienced math teachers to save time, build engagement and accelerate growth ... Here you can find out what mean and average are, when mean and average are taught in elementary and middle school, and how you can help children to understand mean and average.
Dictionary.com
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"Mean," "Median," And "Mode" – What's The Difference? | Dictionary.com
December 10, 2024 - You find the mean (informally called the average) by adding up all the numbers in a set and then dividing by how many values there are. When you arrange a set of values from smallest to largest, the median is the one in the middle.
Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org › wiki › Arithmetic_mean
Arithmetic mean - Wikipedia
1 week ago - The term "arithmetic mean" is preferred in some contexts in mathematics and statistics because it helps to distinguish it from other types of means, such as geometric and harmonic.
Vocabulary.com
vocabulary.com › articles › commonly-confused-words › mean-median-average
mean vs. median vs. average : Commonly confused words | Vocabulary.com
The mean is the sum of all the numbers in the set (167) divided by the amount of numbers in the set (5). The median is the middle point of a number set, in which half the numbers are above the median and half are below. In our set above, the median is 30. But what if your number set has an even number of, er, numbers: ... To calculate the median here, add the two middle numbers (30 + 47) and divide by 2. The median for our new list is 38.5.
BYJUS
byjus.com › maths › difference-between-average-and-mean
Difference Between Average and Mean
November 25, 2022 - In statistics, the mean is the average of the given sample or data set. It is equal to the total of observations divided by the number of observations. ... The Median is the middle value of any given observation when they are arranged in ascending ...
Cambridge Dictionary
dictionary.cambridge.org › dictionary › english › mathematics
MATHEMATICS | English meaning - Cambridge Dictionary
6 days ago - MATHEMATICS definition: 1. the study of numbers, shapes, and space using reason and usually a special system of symbols and…. Learn more.
Dummies
dummies.com › article › academics-the-arts › math › pre-algebra › the-three-types-of-average-median-mode-and-mean-168773
The Three Types of Average – Median, Mode and Mean | dummies
July 2, 2025 - Try remembering ‘medium’ clothes are neither large nor small, but somewhere in between. Goldilocks was a median kind of girl. Mode: The mode is the most common result. ‘Mode’ is another word for fashion, so think of it as the most fashionable answer – ‘Everyone’s learning maths this year!’ · Mean: The mean is what you get by adding up all of the numbers and dividing by how many numbers were in the list.
Collins Dictionary
collinsdictionary.com › dictionary › english › mean
MEAN definition and meaning | Collins English Dictionary
Word originC12: from Old English gemǣne common; related to Old High German gimeini, Latin communis common, at first with no pejorative sense ... a statistic obtained by multiplying each possible value of a variable by its probability and then taking the sum or integral over the range of the variable ... verb transitiveWord forms: meant (mɛnt ), meaningOrigin: ME menen < OE mænan, to mean, tell, complain, akin to Ger meinen, to have in mind, have as opinion < IE base *meino-, opinion, intent > OIr mian, wish, desire
Published 1 week ago
Top answer 1 of 2
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Depending on context, I think there are bunch of alternatives:
- The "most common" value
- The "most popular" value
- The "most prevalent" value
- The "favorite" value (perhaps)
- The "leader"
- The "front-runner"
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I have looked at several math sites, covering a wide range of math abilities, but of the big three -- mean, median, and mode -- mode does not have a synonym.
In contrast, mean has synonyms ("average" or "arithmetic mean"). Median has a synonym ("middle value").
Here are the sites I examined:
- http://math.about.com/od/statistics/a/MeanMedian.htm
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mode_(statistics)
- http://www.purplemath.com/modules/meanmode.htm
- http://searchdatacenter.techtarget.com/definition/statistical-mean-median-mode-and-range
Several of the sites have revealed a shortcoming with the synonyms. Consider the data set:
1 2 4 7
What is the "most common" value? While there is no single value, there are four "most common" values: 1, 2, 4 and 7. What is the mode? There is none, by definition.
Consider the data set:
1 2 2 3 4 6 7 7
What is the "most popular" value? There is no superlative, although 2 and 7 are perhaps more popular. The above data set is bimodal, and its modes are 2 and 7.
(By the way, think of sampling a population for basal levels of a sex hormone, like testosterone. If the sample included both men and women, the mean would not be very meaningful. However, the modes would be more meaningful, as the data would probably be bimodal, and you would get one mode for men and another for women.)
Although the OP has pleaded for an "easier to understand" synonym, I don't think there is a synonym for mode in the statistical sense.
I would recommend taking the time to define mode to the OPs (mostly) adult learners. Consider how the common words "nose," "legs," and "bouquet" take on a new, specialized meaning when sampling wines. Or how common words "liquid," "frozen," and "underwater" can take on new, specialized meanings when describing financial assets. In turn, "mode" can take on a new, specialized meaning with math. They wouldn't even have to learn a new vocabulary word; they could just re-purpose an existing one. With ice cream on top.