Poisson distribution

American

[pwah-sohn, pwa-sawn] / pwɑˈsoʊn, pwaˈsɔ̃ /

noun

Statistics.

a limiting form of the binomial probability distribution for small values of the probability of success and for large numbers of trials: particularly useful in industrial quality-control work and in radiation and bacteriological problems.

Poisson distribution British

/ ˈpwɑːsən /

noun

statistics a distribution that represents the number of events occurring randomly in a fixed time at an average rate λ ; symbol P 0 ( λ ). For large n and small p with np = λ it approximates to the binomial distribution Bi ( n,p )

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Poisson distribution Scientific

/ pwä-sôn′ /

A probability distribution which arises when counting the number of occurrences of a rare event in a long series of trials. It is named after its discoverer, French mathematician and physicist Siméon Denis Poisson (1781–1840).

Etymology

Origin of Poisson distribution

1920–25; named after S. D. Poisson (1781–1840), French mathematician and physicist

Example Sentences

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See Examples For:

Poisson distribution

In a way, the Poisson distribution can be thought of as a clever way to convert a continuous random variable, usually time, into a discrete random variable by breaking up time into discrete independent intervals.

From Textbooks ● Nov. 29, 2017

The random variable for the Poisson distribution is discrete and thus counts events during a given time period, t1 to t2 on Figure 5.20, and calculates the probability of that number occurring.

From Textbooks ● Nov. 29, 2017

Classic Poisson distribution questions are "how many people will arrive at my checkout window in the next hour?"

From Textbooks ● Nov. 29, 2017

In this case, we were being a bit casual because the random variables of a Poisson distribution are discrete, whole numbers, and a box has width.

From Textbooks ● Nov. 29, 2017

A mathematical analysis showed the number of coincidences followed a Poisson distribution very closely.

From Disturbing Sun by Richardson, Robert S. (Robert Shirley)

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023