averages

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of average.

   The seasonal averages have climbed steadily over the past decade.

   Analysts compared the rainfall averages from three different stations.

   Note

   A plural that serves several quite different nouns. In statistics it suits comparisons across datasets or methods, since mean, median and mode are all averages. In sport it names players' scoring records. In shipping it can mean losses from damaged cargo or the duties charged on goods in transit. The same spelling is also the verb's present-tense form, so look for a subject in front of it.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of average.

   Their star forward averages nearly twenty points per game this season.

   The new engine averages forty miles to the gallon on the highway.

   Note

   Who the subject is decides the meaning. When a person does the arithmetic, it means to work out the mean (she averages the scores). When a player or machine is the subject, it reports a typical result (the engine averages forty miles to the gallon). Less often it means to share something out in proportion. With no object at all, it simply means to be, on the whole.

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