Definition

1. Noun:
   • Facts or information used for analysis or decision-making: "Data" refers to raw, unprocessed facts, figures, or statistics collected for reference or analysis. It is the plural form of "datum," though it is often treated as a singular mass noun in modern usage.
   • Information in a form suitable for processing by computer: In computing, "data" specifically denotes information that has been translated into a digital format for storage, transmission, or manipulation.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The research team collected a vast amount of data from the survey.
  • We need more data before we can draw a reliable conclusion.
  • The company stores its customer data on secure servers.

Advanced Usage

• "Raw data": Unprocessed, original data collected from a source.
  • The raw data from the experiment must be cleaned before analysis.
• "Data set": A collection of related data points.
  • The scientist published the complete data set online.
• "Data point": An individual piece of data within a larger collection.
  • Each survey response is a valuable data point.

Variants and Related Words

• Datum (n, singular): A single piece of information. (Note: This form is rarely used in general contexts; "data" is standard.)
• Database (n): A structured set of data held in a computer.
  • The information is retrieved from a central database.
• Data-driven (adj): Guided by or reliant on data analysis.
  • Their strategy is completely data-driven.

Synonyms

• Information: Knowledge obtained from investigation or study.
• Facts: Things that are known or proved to be true.
• Statistics: A collection of quantitative data.

Related Phrases

• "Data analysis": The process of inspecting, cleaning, and modeling data to discover useful information.
  • Her job involves complex data analysis.
• "Data processing": The conversion of data into a usable form.
  • The data processing took several hours.
• "Big data": Extremely large data sets that may be analyzed computationally to reveal patterns and trends.
  • Big data is transforming many industries.

Idioms

• "The data speaks for itself": The information is so clear that it leads to an obvious conclusion without need for further explanation.
  • Look at these results—the data speaks for itself.

Noun

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