prob⋅a⋅bil⋅i⋅ty
[prob-uh-bil-i-tee] 
əˈbɪl
| 1. | the quality or fact of being probable. |
| 2. | a strong likelihood or chance of something: The probability of the book's success makes us optimistic. |
| 3. | a probable event, circumstance, etc.: Our going to China is a probability. |
| 4. | Statistics.
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| 5. | in all probability, very probably; quite likely: The factory will in all probability be relocated. |
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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| prob·a·bil·i·ty (prŏb'ə-bĭl'ĭ-tē) n. pl. prob·a·bil·i·ties
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Probability
Prob`a*bil"i*ty\, n.; pl. Probabilities. [L. probabilitas: cf. F. probabilit['e].]1. The quality or state of being probable; appearance of reality or truth; reasonable ground of presumption; likelihood. Probability is the appearance of the agreement or disagreement of two ideas, by the intervention of proofs whose connection is not constant, but appears for the most part to be so. --Locke. 2. That which is or appears probable; anything that has the appearance of reality or truth. The whole life of man is a perpetual comparison of evidence and balancing of probabilities. --Buckminster. We do not call for evidence till antecedent probabilities fail. --J. H. Newman. 3. (Math.) Likelihood of the occurrence of any event in the doctrine of chances, or the ratio of the number of favorable chances to the whole number of chances, favorable and unfavorable. See 1st Chance, n., 5. Syn: Likeliness; credibleness; likelihood; chance.Cite This Source
probability
A number between zero and one that shows how likely a certain event is. Usually, probability is expressed as a ratio: the number of experimental results that would produce the event divided by the number of experimental results considered possible. Thus, the probability of drawing the ten of clubs from an ordinary deck of cards is one in fifty-two (1:52), or one fifty-second.
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
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| probability (prŏb'ə-bĭl'ĭ-tē) Pronunciation Key
A number expressing the likelihood of the occurrence of a given event, especially a fraction expressing how many times the event will happen in a given number of tests or experiments. For example, when rolling a six-sided die, the probability of rolling a particular side is 1 in 6, or 1/6 . |
Copyright © 2002. Published by Houghton Mifflin. All rights reserved.
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probability
see in all probability.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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probability
the branches of mathematics concerned with the laws governing random events, including the collection, analysis, interpretation, and display of numerical data. Probability has its origin in the study of gambling and insurance in the 17th century, and it is now an indispensable tool of both social and natural sciences. Statistics may be said to have its origin in census counts taken thousands of years ago; as a distinct scientific discipline, however, it was developed in the early 19th century as the study of populations, economies, and moral actions and later in that century as the mathematical tool for analyzing such numbers. For technical information on these subjects, see probability theory and statistics.
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