normal curve

[ nawr-muhl kurv ]

noun

, Statistics.

1. a bell curve showing a particular distribution of probability over the values of a random variable.

normal curve

noun

1. statistics a symmetrical bell-shaped curve representing the probability density function of a normal distribution. The area of a vertical section of the curve represents the probability that the random variable lies between the values which delimit the section

Word History and Origins

Origin of normal curve¹

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

Make sure your chair allows you to maintain the normal curves in your spine.

From Seattle Times

While in a normal curve, Super Cruise will stay closer to the inside lane line, which is how most humans drive.

From The Verge

Human behavior distributes itself along normal curves, and the people you're trying to pre-identify are by definition at the tail end of the curve, outliers, the hardest to predict.

From New York Times

Second, scientists tend to think of men as machines, genes as their broken parts and variations in life as problems to be solved—aberrations outside the normal curve.

From Time

Dr. Ranjan Sudan, vice chair of education for the Duke University Department of Surgery, says the acceptance barrier is only a temporary one, apt to follow the normal curve of innovation.

From Newsweek