# mean() Function & Examples

Use the mean() statistics function in Calcul.io. Review its syntax, edit working examples, understand the result, and explore related math functions.

## mean

#### mean(a, b, c, ...)

#### mean(A)

#### mean(A, dimension)

Try it yourself:

```calculio
mean(2, 3, 4, 1)
mean([2, 3, 4, 1])
mean([2, 5; 4, 3])
mean([2, 5; 4, 3], 1)
mean([2, 5; 4, 3], 2)
mean([1.0, 2.7, 3.2, 4.0])
```

[max](https://calcul.io/function/max/index.md)

[median](https://calcul.io/function/median/index.md)

[min](https://calcul.io/function/min/index.md)

[prod](https://calcul.io/function/prod/index.md)

[std](https://calcul.io/function/std/index.md)

[sum](https://calcul.io/function/sum/index.md)

[variance](https://calcul.io/function/variance/index.md)

---

## Calculate an arithmetic mean

**mean** returns the arithmetic average: the sum of values divided by their count. It summarizes a numeric collection with one central value.

## Example

The mean of 2, 4, and 9 is 5. Use [sum](https://calcul.io/function/sum/index.md) and [count](https://calcul.io/function/count/index.md) when you need the components explicitly. Compare [median](https://calcul.io/function/median/index.md), which is less affected by extreme values.

## Caveats

Inputs should be numeric and measured on a scale where averaging makes sense. Remove missing values deliberately with [filter](https://calcul.io/function/filter/index.md). Pair the mean with [std](https://calcul.io/function/std/index.md) to describe spread; a mean alone can conceal variation.

[All functions](https://calcul.io/functions/index.md)