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random variable

American

noun

Statistics.

a quantity that takes any of a set of values with specified probabilities.

random variable British

noun

rv. statistics a quantity that may take any of a range of values, either continuous or discrete, which cannot be predicted with certainty but only described probabilistically

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of random variable

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

We also note that the random variable, what we are interested in, is students' grades, a continuous random variable.

From Textbooks • Nov. 29, 2017

To solve the problem we create a new random variable, the difference between the sample means.

From Textbooks • Nov. 29, 2017

The values of a random variable can vary with each repetition of an experiment, often called a trial.

From Textbooks • Nov. 29, 2017

The random variable is the quantity of fluid placed in the bottles.

From Textbooks • Nov. 29, 2017

The myriad factors affecting innovativeness make the historian’s task paradoxically easier, by converting societal variation in innovativeness into essentially a random variable.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023