English Lexicon

Outlier

/ˈaʊtˌlaɪər/
nounCEFR C1 (Advanced)Top #1500 frequency
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Comprehensive Definitions & Senses

2 senses
As noun
  1. 1

    A person or thing that is situated away from or classed differently from a main group or set.

    "In the study, the researcher identified several outliers that skewed the results."
  2. 2

    In statistics, a data point that differs significantly from other observations.

    "The outlier in the dataset indicated a potential error in data collection."

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Antonyms & Contrasting Words (1)

Linguistic Origin & Historical Etymology

The term 'outlier' originates from the combination of 'out' and 'lier', where 'lier' is derived from the Old English 'leogan', meaning 'to lie'. The term began to be used in statistical contexts in the late 19th century to describe data points that lie outside the overall pattern of distribution.

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