Legal Definitions - mean

Definition: Mean, adjective. 1. Referring to a point that is in the middle of two other points or extremes. For example, "The mean temperature for the day was 75 degrees." 2. Referring to something that is of average size. For example, "The mean height for adult males is around 5'9"." 3. Referring to a value that is the average of a set of numbers. For example, "The mean score on the test was 85%."

Examples:

• If you have a set of numbers, you can find the mean by adding them all up and dividing by the total number of numbers. For example, if you have the numbers 2, 4, 6, and 8, the mean would be (2+4+6+8)/4 = 5.
• In a race, the mean time for all the runners might be used to compare how fast each individual runner was. For example, if the mean time for the race was 30 minutes, a runner who finished in 25 minutes would be considered faster than average.

These examples illustrate the definition of mean by showing how it can be used to describe an average or middle point. The first example shows how to calculate the mean of a set of numbers, while the second example shows how the mean can be used to compare individual results to the average result.