random

Etymology

Definitions

1. 1

   A roving motion

   A roving motion; course without definite direction; lack of rule or method; chance.

   • Still take advice ; though counsels, when they fly / At random, sometimes hit most happily.
   • O ! many a shaft, at random sent, / Finds mark the archer little meant !
2. 2

   Speed, full speed

   Speed, full speed; impetuosity, force.

   • […] for coragiouſly the two kynges newely foughte with great randon and force, they ſhewed their vigors and ſtrengthes and did ſo nobly that their coũter parties had none aduaũtage.
3. 3

   The full range of a bullet or other projectile

   The full range of a bullet or other projectile; hence, the angle at which a weapon is tilted to allow the greatest range.

   • Fortie yards will they shoot levell, or very neare the marke, and 120 is their best at Random.
   • […] the angle at which the miſſive is to mount by ( if we will have it go to its furtheſt randome ) muſt be the half of a right one […]
4. ›+ 12 more definitionsshow fewer

   1. 4

      An undefined, unknown or unimportant person

      An undefined, unknown or unimportant person; a person of no consequence.

      • The party was boring. It was full of randoms.
   2. 5

      The direction of a rake-vein.

   3. 6

      A frame for composing type.

      • Utilization of all floor space underneath case racks and randoms is another feature of the modern composing room; […]
      • Printers' frames and randoms
   4. 7

      Occurring for no particular reason

      Occurring for no particular reason; haphazard, unpredictable.

      • Our city is plagued by random acts of violence.
      • random acts of kindness
   5. 8

      Involving an outcome which is impossible to predict, but which may be represented by a…

      Involving an outcome which is impossible to predict, but which may be represented by a probability distribution; in the ideal case, involving outcomes which are equally likely.

      • Near-synonyms: aleatory, stochastic
      • The flip of a fair coin is purely random.
      • The newspaper conducted a random sample of five hundred American teenagers.
   6. 9

      Pseudorandom

      Pseudorandom; mimicking the result of random selection.

      • The rand function generates a random number from a seed.
   7. 10

      Selected for no particular reason

      Selected for no particular reason; arbitrary; unspecified.

      • A random American off the street couldn't tell the difference.
      • You're just going to trust the word of random people on the Internet?
      • I didn't have time to peruse the resturant's menu, so I just ordered some random dish.
   8. 11

      Being (part of) a varied, unrelated, and apparently arbitrary collection of things

      Being (part of) a varied, unrelated, and apparently arbitrary collection of things; diverse, heterogeneous.

      • My notebook has turned into a random collection of thoughts.
      • I brought a bunch of random snacks, but nothing nutritious.
      • I mixed a bunch of random vegetables into a salad, and it actually turned out pretty good.
   9. 12

      Apropos of nothing

      Apropos of nothing; lacking context, relevance, or any connection to the previous situation; unexpected.

      • This random guy just came up to me to say that he was a fan of my work.
      • Thank you for that completely random comment... now, let's get back to our actual topic of discussion.
      • The teacher's bartending story was interesting, but very random.
   10. 13

       Of a person

       Of a person: characterized by or often saying random things; habitually using non sequiturs.

       • You're so random! I never know what you're going to do next.
   11. 14

       Being out of the ordinary

       Being out of the ordinary; unusual or unexpected; odd, strange, bizarre.

       • That's a rather random fact!
       • I can't believe he would say that. That's so random!
   12. 15

       To wander

       To wander; to stray; to meander.

The neighborhood

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