normal curve

American  

[nawr-muhl kurv] / ˈnɔr məl ˈkɜrv /

noun

Statistics.

1. a bell curve showing a particular distribution of probability over the values of a random variable.

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normal curve British  

noun

1. statistics a symmetrical bell-shaped curve representing the probability density function of a normal distribution. The area of a vertical section of the curve represents the probability that the random variable lies between the values which delimit the section

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Etymology

Origin of normal curve

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

normal curve

While in a normal curve, Super Cruise will stay closer to the inside lane line, which is how most humans drive.

From The Verge ● Jul. 23, 2021

The approximation would have been less accurate, because the smaller sample size means that the data does not fit a normal curve as well.

From Textbooks ● Mar. 27, 2020

Some of those with psychiatric risk—Carrie Fisher, David Foster Wallace, Kurt Cobain—turn out to illuminate reality in ways those inside the normal curve cannot.

From Time ● Jan. 9, 2017

Dr. Ranjan Sudan, vice chair of education for the Duke University Department of Surgery, says the acceptance barrier is only a temporary one, apt to follow the normal curve of innovation.

From Newsweek ● Apr. 11, 2015

It is significant that frequency distributions of breeding activity of various species and groups of birds take on the shape of a skewed normal curve.

From The Breeding Birds of Kansas by Johnston, Richard F.