to average up
1
3.0
- phrasal verb
:
promediar
- The average age of our sample is older than U.S. Census estimates (U.S. Census Bureau, 2018); however, this sample does not include 16- to 18-year-olds to avoid sampling minors, thereby pushing our average up.
- push the average up
- bring their average up
Examples
-
Daily BC measurements, presented as micrograms per cubic meter, were lagged up to 1 week and averaged up to 4 weeks before the visit date.
Academic text (2012) -
That brought my average up to a B.
-
Brought my average up a whole letter grade.
-
Downtown's got another base hit, sending his average up near the .300 mark.
-
Well, the natural thing to do would be to average them up right now, but Jeremy says that maybe that's not a very good thing to do.
-
And if that happens, it will probably bring his career average up to maybe 13.5 points... nowhere near representative of his actual and current level of offensive production.
Blog text (7) -
Danisha did receive an A on the final exam in Algebra I, which brought her final grade up to a B, and her exam grade of B in science boosted her final average up to a D.
Academic text (1998) -
So it helps, in this period, to get that average up by adding fashion stores—Saks, Lord and Taylor, or Nordstrom—and then Dillard's, in addition to having a strong regional store such as Hudson's, Fields, or Dayton department stores.
Blog text (27) -
After scoring well on three tests, she was excited to see her grades average up to an A.
-
He practiced every day to raise his running speed and bring his average up for the team.
Synonyms
187
3.2
To calculate the typical value of a group of numbers
6
3.4
End up as an average when you combine several amounts, for example weekly costs
How Even
- US
75
4.3
- Specialized
1
4.2
18
3.4
1
3.0
239
2.5
52
6.3
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to calculate the mean value' is directly derived from the verb 'average' and the particle 'up' only adds a general aspectual/augmentative nuance (completion or emphasis), so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer the MWE meaning. This follows a common verb+particle compositional pattern found cross-linguistically and does not involve an idiomatic or metaphorical shift.
Etymology
The phrasal verb average up comes from the image of pouring many numbers into one bowl: you use average to find the middle amount and up to show making them into a single number. So average up means 'to calculate the average'.