Average ˈævərɪdʒ Year Referred Noun Bre Parents Spend

• the average of 4, 5 and 9 is 6.
• parents spend an average of $220 a year on toys.
• if i get an a on this essay, that will bring my average (= average mark/grade) up to a b+.
• temperatures are above/below average for the time of year.

average

1. the result of adding several amounts together, finding a total, and dividing the total by the number of amounts
• see also batting average
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/batting-average
• The average of 4, 5 and 9 is 6.
• Parents spend an average of $220 a year on toys.
• If I get an A on this essay, that will bring my average (= average mark/grade) up to a B+.
2. a level which is usual
• Temperatures are above/below average for the time of year.
• 400 people a year die of this disease on average.
• Class sizes in the school are below the national average.
3. the principle that one thing will happen as often as another if you try enough times
• Keep applying and by the law of averages you'll get a job sooner or later.

Extra Examples

• His test results are well above average.
• On average, prices have risen 6%.
• The national average is just over two children per family.
• You’ll have to calculate the average.
• the student with the best grade point average in his class

Word Origin

• late 15th cent.: from French avarie ‘damage to ship or cargo’, earlier ‘customs duty’, from Italian avaria, from Arabic ‘awār ‘damage to goods’; the suffix -age is on the pattern of damage. Originally this referred to a tax on exported goods. The meaning later changed so that it referred to money due from goods that had been lost or damaged at sea. It referred specifically to the way the losses were divided between the owners of the vessel and the owners of the cargo (late 16th cent.). This gave rise to the general sense of calculating the mean (mid 18th cent.).