probability distribution

American  

noun

Statistics.

1. a distribution of all possible values of a random variable together with an indication of their probabilities.

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probability distribution Scientific  

1. A function of a discrete random variable (that is, a variable whose values are obtained from a finite or countable set) yielding the probability that the variable will have a given value.

2. Also called probability density

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Etymology

Origin of probability distribution

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

The MIT team's insight is that this probability distribution also defines a generative model upon which a classifier can be constructed.

From Science Daily • May 16, 2024

A classical computer is then used to calculate an energy expectation value of the cost function using this new probability distribution.

From Science Daily • Mar. 25, 2024

Altogether, the words can be represented as a probability distribution.

From Scientific American • Jun. 15, 2023

It comes from constructing what’s called a probability distribution, and requires some basic grade-school statistics.

From Washington Post • Aug. 23, 2022

Equally, Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle implies that particles behave in some respects like waves: they do not have a definite position but are “smeared out” with a certain probability distribution.

From "A Brief History of Time: And Other Essays" by Stephen Hawking