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Abstract We propose a new observable for the measurement of the forward–backward asymmetry$$(A_{FB})$$ $\left(A_{\mathrm{FB}}\right)$in Drell–Yan lepton production. At hadron colliders, the$$A_{FB}$$ $A_{\mathrm{FB}}$distribution is sensitive to both the electroweak (EW) fundamental parameter$$\sin ^{2} \theta _{W}$$ ${sin}^2{\theta }_W$, the weak mixing angle, and the parton distribution functions (PDFs). Hence, the determination of$$\sin ^{2} \theta _{W}$$ ${sin}^2{\theta }_W$and the updating of PDFs by directly using the same$$A_{FB}$$ $A_{\mathrm{FB}}$spectrum are strongly correlated. This correlation would introduce large bias or uncertainty into both precise measurements of EW and PDF sectors. In this article, we show that the sensitivity of$$A_{FB}$$ $A_{\mathrm{FB}}$on$$\sin ^{2} \theta _{W}$$ ${sin}^2{\theta }_W$is dominated by its average value around theZpole region, while the shape (or gradient) of the$$A_{FB}$$ $A_{\mathrm{FB}}$spectrum is insensitive to$$\sin ^{2} \theta _{W}$$ ${sin}^2{\theta }_W$and contains important information on the PDF modeling. Accordingly, a new observable related to the gradient of the spectrum is introduced, and demonstrated to be able to significantly reduce the potential bias on the determination of$$\sin ^{2} \theta _{W}$$ ${sin}^2{\theta }_W$when updating the PDFs using the same$$A_{FB}$$ $A_{\mathrm{FB}}$data.