Outlier
/ˈaʊt.laɪ.ər/
An outlier is a data point or entity that significantly differs from others in a set, either statistically or in a broader descriptive sense.
Examples
- The algorithm detected several outliers in the test results.
- As an outlier, he didn't fit into any of the established categories.
- We removed the outlier before running the regression.
- The system flags extreme values as potential outliers.
- Geniuses are often outliers in terms of both IQ and life experience.
Meanings
Formed in English by combining out, meaning 'outside', with lier, from the verb to lie (in the spatial sense). The term emerged in statistical contexts to describe values that lie outside the expected range. It gained widespread use in the 1950s with the growth of quantitative research methods.
Examples
- The algorithm detected several outliers in the test results.
- One outlier skewed the average income calculation.
- We removed the outlier before running the regression.
- Her performance was such an outlier that it couldn't be ignored.
- The system flags extreme values as potential outliers.
Adopted metaphorically from statistics. By the 1970s, outlier was commonly applied to people or phenomena that stood apart from the norm, especially in sociology, business, and popular writing. The term gained cultural prominence through books like Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers (2008).
Examples
- Geniuses are often outliers in terms of both IQ and life experience.
- The company is an outlier in its industry due to its profit margins.
- As an outlier, he didn't fit into any of the established categories.
- Rural communities with high longevity are outliers worth studying.
- She was an outlier in the group, both in age and perspective.