How to Use random in a Sentence

random

1 of 2 adjective
  • Pick a random word on the page.
  • We tasted the wines in random order and then rated each.
  • A random sample of doctors from around the country were selected for the study.
  • She collects random photographs that she finds in antique shops.
  • The computer program generates a list of random numbers.
  • Some of it was random, some of it the Jazz will need to fix.
    Eric Walden, The Salt Lake Tribune, 6 Apr. 2021
  • The plan is to pick 385 households at random and test them for the virus.
    Joshua Fechter, ExpressNews.com, 30 Apr. 2020
  • The point is, there are 10 pages full of random items to choose from, and all of them are cheap.
    Scott Gilbertson, WIRED, 11 Oct. 2023
  • The villains are plucked from a deck of cards at random.
    Erik Kain, Forbes, 24 May 2021
  • The idea for this study was not random: In the wild, parrots tend to live in large flocks.
    Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 Apr. 2023
  • William Cail told reporters that the killing seemed to be random.
    Steve Helling, PEOPLE.com, 18 Aug. 2020
  • Dense brush crowds the small creeks, while few tiny conifers seem to pop up at random.
    oregonlive, 30 Aug. 2020
  • This was not a random, all-of-a-sudden thought or idea.
    Phoebe Wall Howard, Detroit Free Press, 5 May 2018
  • Other times still, the cause isn't known, and the seizure seems to happen at random.
    Patti Greco, Health.com, 9 Nov. 2021
  • That part, on its own, is okay if your noise is random.
    Ethan Siegel, Forbes, 4 Mar. 2021
  • Part of the price of maintaining that format is the random draw.
    Gentry Estes, The Courier-Journal, 14 Mar. 2018
  • One showed a random member of the colony, while the other showed the test subject’s mate.
    Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Nov. 2023
  • Bankston’s choice to name-drop Stone before the judge could have been random.
    Kathleen Walsh, Glamour, 5 Aug. 2022
  • Pick a random shoe, poop in it, and then sit back and let the magic happen.
    NOLA.com, 14 Dec. 2020
  • Trump’s messy birdcage of a mind careers from one random thought to the next.
    Graydon Carter, The Hive, 14 Oct. 2017
  • It was led by the firm Wolvereye and was not based on a random sample.
    Washington Post, 13 July 2020
  • Cold-email, cold-call, don't be afraid to reach out to random people.
    Ariana Yaptangco, Glamour, 13 May 2022
  • Hence the random assortment of brand-new items in her bins.
    Jennifer Egan, The New Yorker, 11 Sep. 2023
  • And that is determined based on a random set of traits.
    Yvonne Villarreal, Los Angeles Times, 11 Jan. 2024
  • At the time Carter had been thinking a lot about random acts of kindness.
    Lisa Gutierrez, kansascity.com, 14 June 2017
  • In this case, the photon sets off one of the detectors at random.
    Chris Lee, Ars Technica, 17 Dec. 2018
  • But first, a random act of kindness sparks over a decade of giving.
    Julius Lasin, USA TODAY, 5 Dec. 2022
  • Winners will be drawn at random and must be present to win.
    Lainey Seyler, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 3 July 2018
  • Prize winners will be drawn at random at the conclusion of the event.
    The Courier-Journal, 5 Apr. 2023
  • One night, Alissa and I crashed a random house party with a group of our friends.
    Samantha Mann, ELLE, 1 Aug. 2023
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random

2 of 2 noun
  • The five balls are chosen at random from a set of 75 numbers, and the one Mega Ball is drawn from a set of 15.
    Sheldon S. Shafer, The Courier-Journal, 10 May 2017
  • Even worse, the buggers appear at random from a draw bag as your exploration of the ship makes more of a ruckus.
    Dan Thurot, Ars Technica, 18 Jan. 2020
  • The names of qualified students would be picked at random until a class is filled.
    Jeffrey Selingo, The Atlantic, 27 Apr. 2018
  • Instead, the game has playlists, which serve up modes seemingly at random.
    Andrew Webster, The Verge, 29 Nov. 2018
  • Making a passphrase random is only half of the solution, though.
    Henry Williams, WSJ, 18 Sep. 2018
  • At the start of the game, a hat that may be either blue or red is chosen at random from a large number of hats and placed on each contestant’s head.
    Quanta Magazine, 23 Mar. 2016
  • GRBs appear seemingly at random in the Universe and rarely last less than a minute, making them hard to study.
    David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, 22 Dec. 2017
  • Rich was shot and killed near his Washington home in July 2016 in what police ruled a random, botched robbery.
    Callum Borchers, Washington Post, 14 Mar. 2018
  • Perhaps three judges would be chosen at random from a circuit court and the president would select one.
    Matt Ford, The New Republic, 4 June 2019
  • Pick a number at random, Hogg suggested, and contact the company next to it.
    The Washington Post, NOLA.com, 29 Mar. 2018
  • The studies would have to be carried out online, with participants in each drawn at random from a common pool.
    Wired, 6 Dec. 2019
  • Heck, people are reaching out to randoms in social media DM's.
    Chris Fedor, cleveland.com, 13 Mar. 2018
  • Chatfield sped away from police, running red lights, making turns at random.
    The Washington Post, NOLA.com, 21 Oct. 2017
  • Unless your idea of sexy is simulating intimacy while a bunch of randoms watch you, in which case more power to you.
    Mehera Bonner, Marie Claire, 6 Apr. 2017
  • Then, create random dot designs on each nail using a dotting tool and shade Tribal Textiles.
    Lauren Rearick, Teen Vogue, 1 Oct. 2018
  • The conceit was this: You’d be paired with a conversational partner at random for a video chat via webcam.
    Arielle Pardes, Wired, 24 Dec. 2019
  • Miami police believe Reinosa chose the house at random, breaking in by shattering a window with a brick.
    David Ovalle, miamiherald, 2 Nov. 2017
  • The percentage of the deficit should also require that a matching percentage of members, drawn at random should be discharged with no further pay.
    Cincinnati.com, 9 Aug. 2017
  • The process varies from airline to airline, but some passengers reported a crew member said a computer chose at random.
    Ryan Craggs, Condé Nast Traveler, 12 Apr. 2017
  • File this under random: Many people with a herniated disc don’t have any symptoms, according to the Mayo Clinic.
    Korin Miller, SELF, 11 Sep. 2018
  • While actions like buying a last-minute one-way flight that is pricey or paying for a flight in cash could sometimes land you on this list, according to Skift, the TSA also said the selections can happen at random.
    Talia Avakian, PEOPLE.com, 21 Sep. 2017
  • Some 2,000 homes around town selected at random should be receiving a survey in the mail asking for views on how the city can improve its beaches, parks, recreation facilities and programs.
    Fred Swegles, Orange County Register, 29 Mar. 2017
  • Each institution would establish its own criteria for admissions and then all the names of qualified students would be put into a hat and picked at random until the class is filled.
    Jeffrey J. Selingo, Washington Post, 6 Apr. 2018
  • The concert’s first half was disjointed, shifting styles and attitudes seemingly at random.
    Jon Caramanica, New York Times, 6 Aug. 2017
  • Normally, axions just hit at random, so the swing is always moving but not actually swinging.
    Chris Lee, Ars Technica, 20 Dec. 2018
  • Those customers, who were chosen at random, were asked about recent travel experiences.
    Kate Silver, chicagotribune.com, 7 May 2018
  • What her doctor said next surprised her: Amanda had likely entered perimenopause, the five to 10 years leading up to menopause when hormones start to go haywire, spiking and dipping seemingly at random.
    Meryl Davids Landau, Woman's Day, 27 Jan. 2020
  • Each institution would establish their own minimum criteria for admissions and then all the names of qualified students would be put into a hat and picked at random until the class is filled.
    Jeffrey J. Selingo, Washington Post, 2 Aug. 2017
  • Unfortunately there are plenty of reasons your eyes might suddenly spring a leak, even seemingly at random.
    Zahra Barnes, SELF, 10 Jan. 2018
  • Which brings us to her very on-brand commercial for McDonald's, above, which basically involves Chrissy leaving an awards show, heading to the drive-through, grabbing a massive bag of burgers, and passing them out to a bunch of hungry randoms.
    Mehera Bonner, Marie Claire, 8 Jan. 2018

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'random.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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