normal curve

American  

[nawr-muhl kurv] / ˈnɔr məl ˈkɜrv /

noun

Statistics.

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

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normal curve British  

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

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Etymology

Origin of normal curve

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

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

From The Verge • Jul. 23, 2021

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 • Jan. 9, 2017

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 • Apr. 11, 2015

The number –1099 is way out in the left tail of the normal curve.

From Textbooks • Sep. 19, 2013

It is necessary to make a study of the normal curve of each subject taken when his affective state could be described as "indifferent".

From Clever Hans (The horse of Mr. Von Osten): A contribution to experimental animal and human psychology by Pfungst, Oskar