on average

phrase

variants or on the average
: taking the typical example of the group under consideration
Prices have increased on average by five percent. [=the average increase has been five percent]

Examples of on average in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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.
But meetings as close as this one are quite rare, occurring on average once about every 40 years. — Joe Rao, Space.com, 3 July 2026 Maybe Black people are better at basketball than White people on average. — Bobby Burack Outkick, FOXNews.com, 2 July 2026 In recent years, visits to food pantries and soup kitchens have increased 84%, on average per month, compared to pre-pandemic levels. — Melissa Kravitz Hoeffner, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026 One child has been killed in Gaza every day on average since October, according to a CNN tally of health ministry figures. — Sana Noor Haq, CNN Money, 5 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for on average

Browse Nearby Words

on/at the threshold
on average
on a whim
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“On average.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/on%20average. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All