normal distribution

noun

: a probability density function that approximates the distribution of many random variables (such as the proportion of outcomes of a particular kind in a large number of independent repetitions of an experiment in which the probabilities remain constant from trial to trial) and that has the form {latex}f(x) = \frac{1}{\sqrt{2\pi\sigma^{2}}}e^{-\frac{(x - \mu)^{2}}{2\sigma^{2}}}{/latex} where μ is the mean and σ is the standard deviation compare normal curve

Examples of normal distribution in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Gosset recognized that this approach worked only with large sample sizes; small samples of hops wouldn’t guarantee that normal distribution. —Jack Murtagh, Scientific American, 25 May 2024

Now known as t distributions, these plots resemble the normal distribution in that they’re bell-shaped, but the curves of the bell don’t drop off as sharply. —Jack Murtagh, Scientific American, 25 May 2024

With this, the second release of a Fedora Remix, Asahi is becoming an almost normal distribution to install, a reasonable place to compute. —Kevin Purdy, Ars Technica, 9 May 2024

Second, the initial velocities will have a normal distribution of speeds and will start off in random directions. —Rhett Allain, WIRED, 21 Jan. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1897, in the meaning defined above