probability

Definition of Probability

(noun) The likelihood an event will occur, expressed as a number between 0 and 1 (i.e., 0.5 indicates 1/2 or 50%).

Examples of Probability

• The probability that it will rain tomorrow.
• The probability of a flipped coin landing on heads or tails.

Probability Pronunciation

Pronunciation Usage Guide

Syllabification: prob·a·bil·i·ty

Audio Pronunciation

International Phonetic Alphabet

• American English – /ˌprɑbəˈbɪlᵻdi/
• British English – /ˌprɒbəˈbɪlᵻti/

Usage Notes

• Plural: probabilities
• Probability is the study of randomness or chance, as such finds its origins in gambling.
• Karl Pearson (1857–1936) helped establish the discipline of statistics and founded the first statistics department at the University College of London.
• Type: divorce probability
• Also called chance.

Additional Information

• Quantitative Research Resources – Books, Journals, and Helpful Links
• Word origin of “probability” – Online Etymology Dictionary: etymonline.com

Related Terms

• attribute
• control group
• correlation
• data
• descriptive statistics
• inferential statistics
• random sample
• reliability
• spurious correlation
• statistics
• statistical analysis

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Works Consulted

Babbie, Earl. 2013. The Practice of Social Research. 13th ed. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.

Bryman, Alan. 2012. Social Research Methods. 4th ed. New York: Oxford University Press.

Burdess, Neil. 2010. Starting Statistics: A Short, Clear Guide. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

Cramer, Duncan, and Dennis Howitt. 2004. The SAGE Dictionary of Statistics: A Practical Resource for Students in the Social Sciences. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

Farlex. (N.d.) TheFreeDictionary.com: Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus. Farlex. (http://www.thefreedictionary.com/).

Fioramonti, Lorenzo. 2014. How Numbers Rule the World: The Use and Abuse of Statistics in Global Politics. London: Zed Books.

Larson, Ron, and Elizabeth Farber. 2015. Elementary Statistics: Picturing the World. 6th ed. Boston: Pearson.

Oxford University Press. (N.d.) Oxford Dictionaries. (https://www.oxforddictionaries.com/).

Salkind, Neil J., ed. 2007. Encyclopedia of Measurement and Statistics. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

Taylor & Francis. (N.d.) Routledge Handbooks Online. (https://www.routledgehandbooks.com/).

Weinstein, Jay A. 2010. Applying Social Statistics: An Introduction to Quantitative Reasoning in Sociology. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation. (https://en.wikipedia.org/).

Wikipedia contributors. (N.d.) Wiktionary, The Free Dictionary. Wikimedia Foundation. (http://en.wiktionary.org).

Wiley. (N.d.) Wiley Online Library. (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/).

Cite the Definition of Probability

ASA – American Sociological Association (5th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2015. “probability.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Retrieved September 29, 2023 (https://sociologydictionary.org/probability/).

APA – American Psychological Association (6th edition)

probability. (2015). In K. Bell (Ed.), Open education sociology dictionary. Retrieved from https://sociologydictionary.org/probability/

Chicago/Turabian: Author-Date – Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)

Bell, Kenton, ed. 2015. “probability.” In Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Accessed September 29, 2023. https://sociologydictionary.org/probability/.

MLA – Modern Language Association (7th edition)

“probability.” Open Education Sociology Dictionary. Ed. Kenton Bell. 2015. Web. 29 Sep. 2023. <https://sociologydictionary.org/probability/>.