random
proceeding, made, or occurring without definite aim, reason, or pattern: the random selection of numbers.
Statistics. of or characterizing a process of selection in which each item of a set has an equal probability of being chosen.
Building Trades.
(of building materials) lacking uniformity of dimensions: random shingles.
(of ashlar) laid without continuous courses.
constructed or applied without regularity: random bond.
Slang.
unknown, unidentified, or suspiciously out of place: A couple of random guys showed up at the party.
odd or unpredictable, often in an amusing way: my totally random life.
something that is random, or a random state or condition: different statistical methods used to estimate randoms.
Slang.
a person or thing that is unknown, unidentified, or suspiciously out of place.
a person or thing that is odd or unpredictable.
Chiefly British. bank3 (def. 7b).
Building Trades. without uniformity: random-sized slates.
Idioms about random
at random, without definite aim, purpose, method, or adherence to a prior arrangement; in a haphazard way: Contestants were chosen at random from the studio audience.
Origin of random
1Other words for random
Other words from random
- ran·dom·ly, adverb
- ran·dom·ness, noun
- non·ran·dom, adjective
- non·ran·dom·ness, noun
Words Nearby random
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use random in a sentence
So when random researchers nudged them to establish new behaviors, they were already in a headspace conducive to change.
How a vacation—or a pandemic—can help you adopt better habits now | matthewheimer | September 12, 2020 | FortuneIf information just seems sort of random, ask more questions.
Top 10 tips on how to study smarter, not longer | Kathiann Kowalski | September 9, 2020 | Science News For StudentsWell, if your data didn’t come from random noise, the truth must still be out there.
There is also the tension of competition between parenting individuals like humans when it’s only a random 50 percent of their own genes that are going to get propagated.
How Life Could Continue to Evolve - Issue 88: Love & Sex | Caleb Scharf | August 12, 2020 | NautilusOnly a few variants will spread, perhaps due to random chance.
Reprinted by arrangement with The Penguin Press, a member of Penguin Group (USA) LLC, A Penguin random House Company.
Thank Congress, Not LBJ for Great Society | Julian Zelizer, Scott Porch | January 4, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTBut by Wednesday evening there was little in the way of organized protests or random unrest in the area.
He did not shout “God is great,” but his random act served the purposes of ISIS almost as well.
France’s Wave of Crazy-Terror Christmas Attacks | Christopher Dickey | December 24, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTrandom House is also covering the legal fees of an innocent man called Barry who was caught up in the storm.
random House agreed that all future editions of the book will state that “Barry” was a pseudonym.
Firing a random volley, those that lived turned and fled, pursued by the scouts.
The Courier of the Ozarks | Byron A. DunnThe blows stung, and Black Sheep struck back at random with all the power at his command.
Kipling Stories and Poems Every Child Should Know, Book II | Rudyard KiplingAt random, I select four names from the printed list, and the new jurors file into the box.
Prison Memoirs of an Anarchist | Alexander BerkmanThe spot where his random blow had struck still gleamed transparent jet.
The Dragon Painter | Mary McNeil FenollosaNow, you didn't nearly die at all, and death is not so trivial as we seem to think it, when we talk so at random.
In the Onyx Lobby | Carolyn Wells
British Dictionary definitions for random
/ (ˈrændəm) /
lacking any definite plan or prearranged order; haphazard: a random selection
statistics
having a value which cannot be determined but only described probabilistically: a random variable
chosen without regard to any characteristics of the individual members of the population so that each has an equal chance of being selected: random sampling
informal (of a person) unknown: some random guy waiting for a bus
at random in a purposeless fashion; not following any prearranged order
Origin of random
1Derived forms of random
- randomly, adverb
- randomness, noun
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
Scientific definitions for random
[ răn′dəm ]
Relating to a type of circumstance or event that is described by a probability distribution.
Relating to an event in which all outcomes are equally likely, as in the testing of a blood sample for the presence of a substance.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Other Idioms and Phrases with random
see at random.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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