random variable

American  

noun

Statistics.

1. a quantity that takes any of a set of values with specified probabilities.

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random variable British  

noun

1.  rv.  statistics a quantity that may take any of a range of values, either continuous or discrete, which cannot be predicted with certainty but only described probabilistically

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Etymology

Origin of random variable

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

The myriad factors affecting innovativeness make the historian’s task paradoxically easier, by converting societal variation in innovativeness into essentially a random variable.

From Literature

Like the stock market, timing is a random variable.

From New York Times