Robert Steinbrunn
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 datum in a Sentence
Perri Ormont Blumberg Fox News, FOXNews.com, 18 Apr. 2025
Madhusudhan’s team also presented a very detailed analysis of the uncertainties in the data and interpretation.
—Daniel Apai, The Conversation, 18 Apr. 2025
Laura Lindberg, a Rutgers public health professor, lamented the threatened pregnancy-risk data at the annual conference of the Population Association of America in Washington last week.
—Alec MacGillis, ProPublica, 18 Apr. 2025
Age verification is a one-time process, and the data used for it will not be stored by the company or its vendor, Discord says on its support page.
—Jibin Joseph, PC Magazine, 18 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for datum
Cite this Entry
“Datum.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/datum. Accessed 22 Apr. 2025.
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