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.

---

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

---

Etymology

Origin of normal curve

First recorded in 1890–95

Example Sentences

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

There is no normal curve for a particular CHARACTER, there is only a curve for the varying combinations of conditions occurring in nature or under cultivation.

From Darwin and Modern Science by Seward, A. C. (Albert Charles)