stats
- 1Short for statistics, in the sense of data or figures.
The coach went over last season's stats before choosing his starting lineup.
According to the latest stats, fewer people are buying newspapers every year.
Note
Figures are counted, so here the verb goes plural: the stats are in, these stats show a rise, what do the stats tell us? The clipping is at home in sports talk and casual news writing, while formal reports spell out the word, so a speaker can tell the two meanings apart from the verb alone, unlike the school subject.
- 2Short for statistics, as a subject of study.
Stats is the hardest class on my schedule this semester.
She majored in economics and took stats as an elective.
Note
As the name of a school or college subject, the clipped word takes a singular verb, the way physics and economics do: stats is her favorite subject, stats is the hardest class this semester. It belongs to students' talk; a course catalog or transcript would print the full word.
- 3The attributes of a unit in a game, such as a character's health or the damage it can deal.
My wizard's stats jumped after she reached level ten.
This sword boosts your attack stats but lowers your defense.
Similarattributes
Note
Gamers use the word for the numbers that define a character or unit, such as health, attack, defense and speed. They climb as the unit levels up, as Nintendo Power's 2003 guide to Fire Emblem promises, and items or gear can boost them further, so players talk of building, comparing and maxing out stats.
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