histogram

American  

[his-tuh-gram] / ˈhɪs təˌgræm /

noun

Statistics.

1. a graph of a frequency distribution in which rectangles with bases on the horizontal axis are given widths equal to the class intervals and heights equal to the corresponding frequencies.

---

histogram British  

/ ˈhɪstəˌɡræm /

noun

1. a statistical graph that represents the frequency of values of a quantity by vertical rectangles of varying heights and widths. The width of the rectangles is in proportion to the class interval under consideration, and their areas represent the relative frequency of the phenomenon in question See also stem-and-leaf diagram

---

Etymology

Origin of histogram

First recorded in 1890–95; histo- + -gram ¹

Explanation

Histogram is a fancy word for "bar graph." If you use the word histogram to describe a chart that uses bars or rectangles to display how often something happens, your math teacher will be impressed. The benefit of a histogram is that instead of a list of numbers, you can see information graphed on a bar chart, which makes it much more easy to understand. The word comes from the Greek root histos which means both "the mast of a ship" and "anything set upright," like the bars on a histogram.

Example Sentences

The x-axis goes from 32.5 to 100.5; the y-axis goes from –2.4 to 15 for the histogram.

From Textbooks • Mar. 27, 2020

Use the arrows to go to the histogram picture and select the histogram.

From Textbooks • Mar. 27, 2020

Using either a graphing calculator or computer or by hand, use the frequency column to construct a histogram for each publisher's survey.

From Textbooks • Mar. 27, 2020

To construct the histogram for the data in Table 2.45, determine appropriate minimum and maximum x- and y-values and the scaling.

From Textbooks • Mar. 27, 2020

This is called a "word frequency histogram" and it tells you what the probability is that any bag of words is likely to be spam.

From Little Brother by Doctorow, Cory