AT RANDOM • FREE TRANSLATOR.ORG • Definition of At random

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/æt rˈændəm/ Listen

adjective

Random adj.

1.

Going at random or by chance; done or made at hazard, or without settled direction, aim, or purpose; hazarded without previous calculation; left to chance; haphazard; as, a random guess. "Some random truths he can impart." "So sharp a spur to the lazy, and so strong a bridle to the random."

2.

(Statistics) Of, pertaining to, or resulting from a process of selection from a starting set of items, in which the probability of selecting any one object in the starting set is equal to the probability of selecting any other.

3.

(Construction) Of unequal size or shape; made from components of unequal size or shape.

at random in a manner so that all possible results have an equal probability of occurrence; for processes, each possible result is counted separately although the same type of result may occur more than once.

Random courses (Masonry), courses of stone of unequal thickness.

Random shot, a shot not directed or aimed toward any particular object, or a shot with the muzzle of the gun much elevated.

Random work (Masonry), stonework consisting of stones of unequal sizes fitted together, but not in courses nor always with flat beds.

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Etymology of 'At random'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"At random" Quotes from Famous Books

... he said at last, striking back at random, and then sitting up he rubbed his eyes. There was Louie sitting opposite to him, crying great tears of rage and pain, now rocking her ankle as if it hurt her, and now dealing cuffs ...

— The History of David Grieve • Mrs. Humphry Ward

... no more. He bowed me politely out, and I walked down the street, and realised that I was restless and wretched. I wandered at random for a while. trying to think what else I could do, for my own peace of mind, if not for Sylvia's welfare. I found myself inventing one worry after another. Dr. Overton had not said just when he was going, and suppose she were to need someone at once? Or suppose something ...

— Sylvia's Marriage • Upton Sinclair

... here. The subtitle of the present book is An Underwater Tour of the World, so in good travelog style, the Nautilus's exploits supply an episodic story line. Shark attacks, giant squid, cannibals, hurricanes, whale hunts, and other rip-roaring adventures erupt almost at random. Yet this loose structure gives the novel an air of documentary realism. What's more, Verne adds backbone to the action by developing three recurring motifs: the deepening mystery of Nemo's past life and future intentions, the mounting tension between Nemo and hot-tempered ...

— 20000 Leagues Under the Seas • Jules Verne

... the impressions of the metropolis that seem to fall short of reality. Let me quote a few others taken at random here and there over ...

— My Discovery of England • Stephen Leacock

... one of those novel readers who open a book at random. I do not appreciate effects till I have found out the causes. I want to know everything about you, for you ...

— The Princess Elopes • Harold MacGrath

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