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Statistics vocabulary · Probability

Probability

Meaning in statistics, with examples

/ˌprɑːbəˈbɪləti/nounCore term

In statistics, probability means: A number between 0 and 1 that expresses how likely an event is: 0 means it cannot happen and 1 means it is certain.

In Turkish: olasılık

How it is used

Written P(A) and read 'the probability of A'. In speech it is often given as a percentage ('a 30% probability'). 'Chance' and 'likelihood' are less formal near-synonyms, although 'likelihood' also has a separate technical meaning in statistics.

Example sentences

  1. The probability of rolling a six with a fair die is 1/6.

  2. What's the probability that at least one of the ten machines fails this month?

Common collocations

  • the probability of an event
  • high probability
  • calculate the probability
  • probability theory
  • probability distribution
  • conditional probabilityThe probability that an event happens given that another event has already happened, written P(A | B) and read 'the probability of A given B'.
  • independent eventsEvents where knowing that one has happened does not change the probability of the other; for two such events, P(A and B) = P(A) × P(B).
  • random variableA variable whose value is determined by the outcome of a random process, such as the number of heads in ten coin tosses or the waiting time for a bus.
  • expected valueThe long-run average result of a random variable if the same process were repeated many times, found by weighting each possible value by its probability.
  • distributionThe pattern showing which values a variable takes and how often each one occurs, often pictured as a histogram or a curve.

More terms: Probability

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