arithmetic mean

arithmetic mean (plural arithmetic means)

1. (statistics, probability) The measure of central tendency of a set of values computed by dividing the sum of the values by their number; commonly called the mean or the average.

   The arithmetic mean of 3, 6, 2, 3 and 6 is (3 + 6 + 2 + 3 + 6) / 5 = 4.

• In scientific and economic contexts, this term is preferable to average, which can also mean the mode or the median depending on context.

• average, mean, arithmetic average

• measure of central tendency

• geometric mean
• harmonic mean
• quadratic mean