random variable

noun, Statistics.
1.
a quantity that takes any of a set of values with specified probabilities.
Also called variate.
Origin
1935-40
Examples from the web for random variable
  • The tendency for subsequent observations of a random variable to be closer to its mean than the current observation.
  • Standard deviation has to do with measuring the variation in a random variable.
  • You're treating the amount of money in the second envelope as a random variable, where it is not.
  • The standard deviation is a measure of the variability of the distribution of a random variable.
  • Skewness is a measure of the departure of the distribution of a random variable from symmetry.
British Dictionary definitions for random variable

random variable

noun
1.
(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 rv