data — English Dictionary

Noun

1. A representation of information in a computer (as symbols, quantities, sound, images or videos) which is stored, processed or transmitted in the form of electrical signals, records on magnetic tape or punched cards, etc.

   Usage

   • collective
   • Uncountable

   Examples

   Data can be sent through email.

2. Material recorded and known or assumed as facts and used as a basis for reasoning, discussion, or calculation, represented especially in the form of numbers, and usually structured (such as statistics).

   Usage

   • collective
   • Uncountable

   Synonyms

   datasetdata setdata points

   Examples

   Near-synonyms: dataset, data set, data points

   This data shows that X is correlated with Y.

   More examples (3)

   With fresh material, taxonomic conclusions are leavened by recognition that the material examined reflects the site it occupied; a herbarium packet gives one only a small fraction of the data desirable for sound conclusions. Herbarium material does not, indeed, allow one to extrapolate safely: what you see is what you get[…]

   Risk is everywhere.[…]For each one there is a frighteningly precise measurement of just how likely it is to jump from the shadows and get you. “The Norm Chronicles”[…]aims to help data-phobes find their way through this blizzard of risks.

   When Hill wrote his history of “dude,” understanding such trends in slang was close to impossible. There simply weren’t enough data. Not so today. To uncover the hidden shape of vocative use, linguists can draw on one of the best datasets the English language has ever had: Twitter.

Noun

1. a collection of facts from which conclusions may be drawn

   Synonyms

   information

   Broader terms

   collectionaggregationaccumulationassemblage

   Examples

   statistical data