x̄ X-Bar Symbol
X-bar (x̄) is the sample mean in statistics — the average of your data, used to estimate the population mean μ. Like p̂, it is a letter plus a combining accent, not a single character.
Also known as: x bar, x bar symbol, mean symbol statistics, sample mean symbol, x with a line over it.
Codes
| Symbol | x̄ | |
| Unicode | x (U+0078) + U+0304 | |
| Combining accent | U+0304 combining macron | |
| HTML entity (decimal) | x̄ | |
| HTML entity (hex) | x̄ | |
| CSS | \0078\0304 | |
| LaTeX | \bar{x} |
How to type x̄ (X-Bar Symbol)
There is no Alt code — x̄ is not a single character. Copy it above, or use the Word method below.
No keystroke produces it. Copy x̄ above, or use Pages/Word equation input with \bar{x}.
Type x, then 0304, then press Alt + X — the code becomes the combining macron and settles over the x. (Equation editor: type \bar x and press space.)
Insert → Equation, then type \bar x followed by a space.
Use \bar{x} in math mode. \overline{x} draws a wider bar and is the better choice over multi-character expressions.
Usage
- x̄ is the sample mean: x̄ = (Σxᵢ) / n — add up your observations and divide by how many there are.
- x̄ vs μ — the distinction that matters. μ is the true population mean (usually unknown); x̄ is the mean of the sample you actually collected, and is used to estimate μ. Same idea as p̂ vs p.
- Which accent to use: x̄ is x + U+0304 (combining macron). A visually identical x̅ uses U+0305 (combining overline) — a different code point, so the two strings are not equal even though they look the same. Prefer U+0304, which is what LaTeX's \bar and standard statistics usage correspond to.
- Do not reach for the HTML entity ¯ — that is ¯ (U+00AF), a stand-alone spacing macron. It sits beside the letter instead of on top of it, because it is not a combining character.