probable error
noun Statistics.
a quantity formerly used as a measure of variability: equal to 0.6745 times the standard deviation. A normally distributed population has half of its elements within one probable error of the mean.
QUIZZES
IT’S A WORD OF THE DAY QUIZ BONANZA!
This windfall of words will make you rich with knowledge. Mine your memory on the words from July 27 to August 2!
Question 1 of 7
What does "scattergood" mean?
a person who acts as though he or she knows everything and who dismisses the opinions, comments, or suggestions of others.
a person who spends possessions or money extravagantly or wastefully; spendthrift.
a well-intentioned but naive and often ineffectual social or political reformer.
TAKE THE QUIZ TO FIND OUTOrigin of probable error
First recorded in 1805–15
Words nearby probable error
probability function, probability theory, probability wave, probable, probable cause, probable error, probably, probacteriophage, proband, probang, probate
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Scientific definitions for probable error
probable error
[ prŏb′ə-bəl ]
The amount by which the arithmetic mean of a sample is expected to vary because of chance alone.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.