distributions definition | Dictionary.com

dis⋅tri⋅bu⋅tion

[dis-truh-byoo-shuh

–noun

1.	an act or instance of distributing.

2.	the state or manner of being distributed.

3.	arrangement; classification.

4.	something that is distributed.

5.	the frequency of occurrence or the natural geographic range or place where any item or category of items occurs: What is the distribution of coniferous forests in the world?

6.	placement, location, arrangement, or disposition: The distribution of our troops is a military secret.

7.	apportionment: The court decided the distribution of the property among the heirs.

8.	the delivery or giving out of an item or items to the intended recipients, as mail or newspapers.

9.	the total number of an item delivered, sold, or given out: The distribution of our school paper is now 800.

10.	the marketing, transporting, merchandising, and selling of any item.

11.	(in bridge and other card games) the way in which the suits of a deck of cards are, or one specific suit is, divided or apportioned in one player's hand or among the hands of all the players: My distribution was six spades, four hearts, two clubs, and a singleton diamond.

12.

Economics.

a.	the division of the aggregate income of any society among its members, or among the factors of production.

b.	the system of dispersing goods throughout a community.

13.	Statistics. a set of values or measurements of a set of elements, each measurement being associated with an element.

14.	Mathematics. a generalized function used esp. in solving differential equations.

Origin:
1375–1425; late ME (< AF) < L distribūtiōn- (s. of distribūtiō). See distribute, -ion

Related forms:

dis⋅tri⋅bu⋅tion⋅al, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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dis·tri·bu·tion (dĭs'trə-byōō'shən)

The act of distributing or the condition of being distributed; apportionment.
Something distributed; an allotment.
The act of dispersing or the condition of being dispersed; diffusion.
1. The geographic occurrence or range of an organism.
2. The geographic occurrence or range of a custom, usage, or other feature.
Division into categories; classification.
The process of marketing and supplying goods, especially to retailers.
A spatial or temporal array of objects or events: the distribution of theaters on Broadway.
Law The division of an estate or property among rightful heirs.
Statistics A set of numbers and their frequency of occurrence collected from measurements over a statistical population.
Mathematics A generalized function used in the study of partial differential equations.

dis'tri·bu'tion·al adj.

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