median 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of mediannext
1
as in average
being about midway between extremes of amount or size the median price of a home in the area

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in middle
occupying a position equally distant from the ends or extremes determine the median point between your two speakers, and test your stereo system from there

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

median

2 of 2

noun

as in normal

Related Words

Dissimilar Words

Synonym Chooser

How is the word median distinct from other similar nouns?

Some common synonyms of median are average, mean, and norm. While all these words mean "something that represents a middle point," 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

When would average be a good substitute for median?

The meanings of average and median largely overlap; however, average is the quotient obtained by dividing the sum total of a set of figures by the number of figures.

scored an average of 85 on tests

When can mean be used instead of median?

The words mean and median can be used in similar contexts, but 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°

When might norm be a better fit than median?

In some situations, the words norm and median are roughly equivalent. However, norm means the average of performance of a significantly large group, class, or grade.

scores about the norm for fifth grade arithmetic

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of median
Adjective
Across Williamson County, where Franklin is located, the median home sale price was $929,990, the real estate website reported. — Stepheny Price, FOXNews.com, 13 Oct. 2026 And, according to Bank of America, median-company earnings growth outside of tech, the Mag 7 and energy is slated to slow to 7% in the third quarter from 12% in the second. — Michael Santoli, CNBC, 13 Oct. 2026
Noun
In August, the CSU released a study that found that staff salaries were slightly below the market median for higher education institutions and about 10% below the general industry standard. — Tarini Mehta, Sacbee.com, 9 Oct. 2026 According to police, the car left the road in the center median and hit the guardrail. — Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for median
Recent Examples of Synonyms for median
  1. average
  2. middle
  3. normal
  4. halfway
  5. medial
  6. intermediate
  7. mid
Adjective
  • Mahomes himself has been better, posting his highest yards per attempt average and passer rating since 2022.
    — Rohan Nadkarni, NBC news, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Asian jet fuel is trading at just over double the average last year, according to calculations by the International Air Transport Association.
    — Nicholas Gordon, Fortune, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of average
Adjective
  • And all these middle powers, everyone has this ability to stay open, stay world-based, and continue to transact with each other.
    — Shelly Banjo, semafor.com, 19 Oct. 2026
  • The addition of missing middle housing is said to provide a thoughtful addition that honors Oak Park’s character.
    — Cam'ron Hardy, Chicago Tribune, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of middle
Noun
  • The company has been very good about adjusting to the new normal too, which is great.
    — Marah Eakin, Vulture, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Three years after Israel’s invasion, Gazans are tentatively building a new normal in the rubble of their old lives.
    — Ghada Abdulfattah, Christian Science Monitor, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of normal
Adjective
  • The 24-year-old, like Gordon, who replaced him in the second half, offered energetic pressing, even sprinting from close to the halfway line to close down the goalkeeper at one point.
    — Laia Cervelló Herrero, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
  • The 26-year-old information technology administrator consumed a Red Bull energy drink around the film's halfway mark to stay alert.
    — Alex Harring, CNBC, 25 July 2026
Definition of halfway
Adjective
  • For the Sk8-Hi, the upper’s medial side hosts both the full Dodgers script and the LA logo, the latter of which repeats at the top of the heel.
    — Ian Servantes, Footwear News, 30 Sep. 2026
  • The operation is a grafting procedure in which doctors take tendons from another part of the body – the forearm, hamstring, hip or knee – and replace the medial ligament in the elbow with the grafted portion.
    — Kevin Dotson, CNN Money, 16 Aug. 2026
Definition of medial
Adjective
  • Claude developed a way to recover those decisions directly from intermediate numerical values.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 16 Oct. 2026
  • The software generates a score from zero to 100, classifying a patient as low, intermediate, or high risk.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of intermediate
Adjective
  • The first gallery presents Krasner’s collage works from the mid 1950s, when Pollock was at an artistic impasse and spiraling out of control.
    — John Yau, ARTnews.com, 18 Oct. 2026
  • But using dogs to investigate crimes wasn’t widely adopted until the mid ‘80s, Gould said.
    — Natasha Holt, FOXNews.com, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of mid

Browse Nearby Words

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median
medians
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Cite this Entry

“Median.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/median. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on median

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about median

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