Meaning & use
data point
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Meanings
nouncountabletechnical
A single measurement or value in a collection of data, often shown as one dot on a graph.
Grammar: Countable: one data point, many data points.
Patterns
- a data point for something
Each dot on the chart is a data point from a different day.
The scientist removed one data point because the sensor had failed.
With only three data points, the trend is hard to judge.
nouncountableinformal
A piece of information that helps you understand a situation or support an argument.
Grammar: Informal and common in business talk: that's a useful data point.
Patterns
- another data point
The low turnout is one more data point suggesting people lost interest.
Customer complaints are a key data point for the design team.
Her salary history was a data point the recruiter wanted to see.
Word forms
| plural | data points |
|---|
Common combinations
- collect data points
- The team collected thousands of data points from the sensors.
- plot a data point
- Plot each data point on the graph.
- outlier data point
- One outlier data point skewed the average.
- additional data point
- An additional data point would make the estimate stronger.
- key data point
- Revenue is the key data point in the report.
Synonyms and how they differ
- observation
- Observation is a general science word for something recorded, whereas data point stresses its place in a numerical dataset.
- measurement
- A measurement is a single reading from an instrument, while a data point can be any recorded item, including a survey answer.
- datum
- Datum is the formal singular of data and is rare in everyday speech, while data point is the common way to say it.
- statistic
- A statistic is a number calculated from data, such as an average, while a data point is one of the raw values.
Word family
Commonly confused: data point or statistic?
data point vs statistic
A statistic summarizes a group of values, while a data point is a single value.
Practice
On a scatter plot, each dot representing one measurement is a ___.
Choose one answer.
Each dot is one value, so it is a data point. A trend line is a line drawn through many of them.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “data point”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.