sta‧tis‧tic S2 W3 AC /stəˈtɪstɪk/ noun
[Word Family: noun: statistic, statistician; adverb: statistically; adjective: statistical]
[Date: 1700-1800; Language: German; Origin: statistik 'study of political facts and figures', from Modern Latin statisticus 'of politics', from Latin status; ⇒ state¹]

1. statistics
a) [plural] a set of numbers which represent facts or measurements:
the official crime statistics
statistics for
statistics for injuries at work
Statistics show that 50% of new businesses fail in their first year.
b) [uncountable] the science of collecting and examining such numbers:
Statistics is a branch of mathematics.

2. [singular] a single number which represents a fact or measurement:
The statistic comes from a study recently conducted by the British government.

3. a statistic informal if someone is just a statistic, they are just another example of someone who has died because of a particular type of accident or disease:
We can’t let these boys become just another statistic.
—statistical adjective:
statistical evidence
—statistically /-kli/ adverb:
The variation is not statistically significant.
⇒ vital statistics

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

statistic

official statistics
Official statistics indicate that educational standards are improving.
government statistics
According to government statistics, only two percent of lone parents are aged under twenty.
national statistics
National statistics greatly underestimate levels of heroin use.
crime/economic/unemployment etc statistics
The economic statistics tell a grim story.
statistics show/indicate something
Statistics show that 80 percent of dog attacks take place in the home.
statistics suggest something
Housing conditions are far worse than the statistics suggest.
compile/collect/gather statistics
Police have not yet compiled statistics for this year.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

statistic
noun
BAD: This view is supported by statistic published in 1985.
GOOD: This view is supported by statistics published in 1985.

Usage Note:
statistic (singular) refers to one piece of data: 'This terrible crime will soon become nothing more than a statistic in police records.'
statistics (plural) refers to a set of data: 'Statistics show that the population has almost doubled in the last twenty years.'

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲