data

noun, plural in form but singular or plural in construction, often attributive

da·ta | \ ˈdā-tə

Definition of data

1 : factual information (such as measurements or statistics) used as a basis for reasoning, discussion, or calculation the data is plentiful and easily available— H. A. Gleason, Jr. comprehensive data on economic growth have been published— N. H. Jacoby

2 : information in digital form that can be transmitted or processed

3 : information output by a sensing device or organ that includes both useful and irrelevant or redundant information and must be processed to be meaningful

Is data singular or plural?: Usage Guide More Example Sentences Learn More about data

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Is data singular or plural?: Usage Guide

Data leads a life of its own quite independent of datum, of which it was originally the plural. It occurs in two constructions: as a plural noun (like earnings), taking a plural verb and plural modifiers (such as these, many, a few) but not cardinal numbers, and serving as a referent for plural pronouns (such as they, them); and as an abstract mass noun (like information), taking a singular verb and singular modifiers (such as this, much, little), and being referred to by a singular pronoun (it). Both constructions are standard. The plural construction is more common in print, evidently because the house style of several publishers mandates it.

Examples of data in a Sentence

Smith, himself a stay-at-home dad and a journalist, mixes accessible summaries of social-science data with anecdotes drawn from interviews with couples in which the men have chosen, or have been compelled by economic circumstance, to become primary caregivers to their children. — Eduardo M. Pealver, Commonweal, 11 Sept. 2009 He plays Chuck Bartowski, a computer-tech expert with the Buy More store's Nerd Herd … who unwittingly becomes a secret agent when government data is downloaded to his brain. — Michael Logan, TV Guide, September 10-16, 2007 As measurements get better and more data pour in, physicists will bring those errors under control and chart exciting new territory. But for many, the wait is a strain. — Charles Seife, Science, 2 May 2003 By studying obscure demographic and economic data, he deduced that the Soviets were in crisis—and spending a far bigger slice of its national income on defense than anyone had suspected. — John Barry et al., Newsweek, 21 May 2001

Recent Examples on the Web

Estonia hasn’t seen any major data breaches since the country’s eID program debut. — Time, "'It Is Absurd.' Data Breaches Show it's Time to Rethink How We Use Social Security Numbers, Experts Say," 5 Aug. 2019 All of this is data-sharing is enabled through Samsung's own health app, called Samsung Health. — Wired, "Samsung's Galaxy Watch Active2 Is Its Latest Swipe at Apple," 5 Aug. 2019 Earlier this year, some experts also worried about overspending on data sharing when there are other urgent needs, such as basic studies of genes that cause pediatric cancers. — Jocelyn Kaiser, Science | AAAS, "Researchers weigh in on Trump’s $500 million plan to share childhood cancer data," 5 Aug. 2019 Apple, Samsung, Amazon, and more have online hubs outlining efforts for running more environmentally friendly data centers, protecting human rights in the supply chain, and the like. — Anna Washenko, Ars Technica, "Google publishes sustainability plan for hardware, but its impact is uncertain," 5 Aug. 2019 The bride’s father is a data architect at Shocase, a professional social network for marketers, in San Francisco. — New York Times, "Lauren Weisenfluh, Daniel Obenshain," 4 Aug. 2019 By acquiring Refinitiv, the stock exchange and clearing-house group will greatly expand its market-information operations, pitting it on many trading floors against Bloomberg, another data provider. — The Economist, "Business this week," 3 Aug. 2019 The game utilizes an interactive data base that aims to keep participants updated with necessary variables, stats and player comparisons. — Marc Bona, cleveland.com, "Pro Football Hall of Fame to launch fantasy football game," 1 Aug. 2019 Green, who was awarded the Wisconsin Idea Fellowship in 2018, worked with urban and regional planning professor Alfonso Morales to create an online data collection toolkit for farmers market managers. — Jeff Rumage, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "'A farmers market for all': Brown Deer offering dollar-for-dollar matching to people in food assistance programs," 1 Aug. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'data.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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More Definitions for data

data

noun

English Language Learners Definition of data

: facts or information used usually to calculate, analyze, or plan something

: information that is produced or stored by a computer

data

noun plural

da·ta | \ ˈdā-tə

, ˈda-tə\

Kids Definition of data

1 : facts about something that can be used in calculating, reasoning, or planning

2 : information expressed as numbers for use especially in a computer

Hint: Data can be used as a singular or a plural in writing and speaking. This data is useful. These data have been questioned.

data

noun plural but singular or plural in construction

da·ta | \ ˈdāt-ə

, ˈdat-

, ˈdät-

Medical Definition of data

: factual information (as measurements or statistics) used as a basis for reasoning, discussion, or calculation the data is plentiful and easily available— H. A. Gleason, Jr. comprehensive data on the incidence of Lyme disease

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data

Definition of data

Is data singular or plural?: Usage Guide

Examples of data in a Sentence

First Known Use of data

History and Etymology for data

English Language Learners Definition of data

Kids Definition of data

Medical Definition of data

data

Definition of data

Is data singular or plural?: Usage Guide

Examples of data in a Sentence

First Known Use of data

History and Etymology for data

English Language Learners Definition of data

Kids Definition of data

Medical Definition of data

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