The probabilityof something happening is how likely it is to happen, sometimes expressed as a fraction or a percentage.
Without a transfusion, the victim's probability of dying was 100%. [+ of]
The probabilities of crime or victimization are higher with some situations thanwith others. [+ of]
You cannot prove conclusively that Sellafield caused cancer. You can only work onthe basis of probability.
2. variable noun
You say that there is a probability that something will happen when it is likely to happen.
[vagueness]
There's an excellent probability that unless action is quickly taken, pipes willfreeze.
If you've owned property for several years, the probability is that values have increased.
Formal talks are still said to be a possibility, not a probability.
His story-telling can push the bounds of probability a bit far at times.
3.
See in all probability
More Synonyms of probability
probability in British English
(ˌprɒbəˈbɪlɪtɪ)
nounWord forms: plural-ties
1.
the condition of being probable
2.
an event or other thing that is probable
3. statistics
a measure or estimate of the degree of confidence one may have in the occurrence of an event, measured on a scale from zero (impossibility) to one (certainty). It may be defined as the proportion of favourable outcomes to the total number of possibilities if these are indifferent (mathematical probability), or the proportion observed in a sample (empirical probability), or the limit of this as the sample size tends to infinity (relative frequency), or by more subjective criteria (subjective probability)
probability in American English
(ˌprɑbəˈbɪləti)
nounWord forms: pluralˌprobaˈbilities
1.
the quality or state of being probable; likelihood
2.
something probable
3. Ancient Mathematics
the ratio of the number of times something will probably occur to the total number of possible occurrences
Idioms:
in all probability
Word origin
MFr probabilité < L probabilitas
Examples of 'probability' in a sentence
probability
There is an 8.7 per cent probability.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The probability of two letters sharing a town is therefore 9 per cent.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
He said there was a'very high probability' that he would be appointed.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
But this is not all about mathematical probabilities and game theory.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
It increased the probability that one of the approaches would work.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
There is a very high probability of the latter.
The Sun (2015)
What percentage probability should it give to the chance that the currency might collapse altogether?
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Loans also have a higher probability of default than other assets.
Mishkin, Frederic S. Financial Markets, Institutions and Money (1995)
To be terrified implies acceptance of the probability that something with the potential to distress is about to happen.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
The shareholders quite rightly decided that jam today was preferable to a high degree of probability that there would be jam tomorrow.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
The survey puts a 55% probability on it introducing quantitative easing.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
So how does one attach figures and probabilities to something as capricious as the Oscars?
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
In these four days you have a higher probability of meeting powerful or influential people than in all the rest of the year.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
High scores had a probability of as high as 16 per cent.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
And where there aren't facts there are high probabilities.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The first step is identifying key risks, which tend to be low probability but very high impact.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
The more that firms borrow, the higher the probability of loss and therefore the lower the expected tax shield.
Charles A. D'Ambrosio & Stewart D. Hodges & Richard Brealey & Stewart Myers Principles of Corporate Finance (1991)
The probability is quite high.
The Sun (2016)
Some months ago I wrote about its mathematical probability.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
The probability of Britain emerging intact was 80 per cent.
The Sun (2014)
And in April it said there was a 65% probability of a warmer than average summer.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
At that time there was a 31 per cent probability of Stoke going down.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
For example, eminent men often had eminent fathers, with about a one in four probability.
Pressley, Michael & McCormick, Christine Advanced Educational Psychology For Educators, Researchers and Policymakers, (1995)
In fact, it can be resolved with a high degree of probability - in the negative.
The Times Literary Supplement (2010)
If your parents are rich, the likelihood of your being rich is as high as the probability of your being tall if your parents are tall.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
There was a 30 per cent chance that a team with a 7 per cent or less probability of promotion would be promoted.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
The upshot was that one million fewer coach journeys were taken and, in all probability, one million fewer visits to grandchildren made.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
In other languages
probability
British English: probability /ˌprɒbəˈbɪlɪtɪ/ NOUN
The probability of something happening is how likely it is to happen, sometimes expressed as a fraction or a percentage.
The probability of a cure is 80%.
American English: probability
Arabic: اِحْتِمَال
Brazilian Portuguese: probabilidade
Chinese: 概率
Croatian: vjerojatnost
Czech: pravděpodobnost
Danish: sandsynlighed
Dutch: waarschijnlijkheid
European Spanish: probabilidad
Finnish: todennäköisyys
French: probabilité
German: Wahrscheinlichkeit
Greek: πιθανότητα
Italian: probabilità
Japanese: 見込み
Korean: 개연성
Norwegian: sannsynlighet
Polish: prawdopodobieństwo
European Portuguese: probabilidade
Romanian: probabilitate
Russian: вероятность
Latin American Spanish: probabilidad
Swedish: sannolikhet
Thai: ความน่าจะเป็นไปได้
Turkish: olasılık
Ukrainian: можливість
Vietnamese: xác suất
All related terms of 'probability'
prior probability
the probability assigned to a parameter or to an event in advance of any empirical evidence , often subjectively or on the assumption of the principle of indifference
probability theory
the mathematical study of probability
classical probability
the probability of an event consisting of n out of m possible equally likely occurrences , defined to be n / m
empirical probability
a measure or estimate of the degree of confidence one may have in the occurrence of an event, defined as the proportion observed in a sample
in all probability
If you say that something will happen in all probability , you mean that you think it is very likely to happen.
marginal probability
(in a multivariate distribution ) the probability of one variable taking a specific value irrespective of the values of the others
posterior probability
the probability assigned to some parameter or to an event on the basis of its observed frequency in a sample , and calculated from a prior probability by Bayes ' theorem
probability function
the function the values of which are probabilities of the distinct outcomes of a discrete random variable
relative probability
a measure or estimate of the degree of confidence one may have in the occurrence of an event, defined as the limit of the proportion observed in a sample as the sample size tends to infinity
subjective probability
a measure or estimate of the degree of confidence one may have in the occurrence of an event, defined by subjective criteria
conditional probability
the probability of one event , A, occurring given that another, B , is already known to have occurred: written P ( A|B ) and equal to P ( A and B )| P ( B )
mathematical probability
the probability of an event consisting of n out of m possible equally likely occurrences , defined to be n / m
probability density function
a function representing the relative distribution of frequency of a continuous random variable from which parameters such as its mean and variance can be derived and having the property that its integral from a to b is the probability that the variable lies in this interval . Its graph is the limiting case of a histogram as the amount of data increases and the class intervals decrease in size
density function
a function representing the relative distribution of frequency of a continuous random variable from which parameters such as its mean and variance can be derived and having the property that its integral from a to b is the probability that the variable lies in this interval . Its graph is the limiting case of a histogram as the amount of data increases and the class intervals decrease in size