Meaning of probability in English

probability

/ˌprɒb.əˈbɪl.ə.ti/ us

/ˌprɑː.bəˈbɪl.ə.t̬i/

the level of possibility of something happening or being true:

The probability of getting all the answers correct is about one in ten.

Until yesterday, the project was just a possibility, but now it has become a real probability (= it is likely to happen).

high probability There's a high probability (= it is very likely that) she'll be here.

strong probability I thought there was a strong probability that the plan would fail.

probability of What is the probability of winning?

Synonym

likelihood

Thesaurus: synonyms, antonyms, and examples

the chance of something happening

chanceThere's a good chance he'll resign.
probabilityWhat's the probability of winning?
oddsWhat are the odds that she takes him back?
likelihoodThe treaty increases the likelihood that the cease-fire will hold.
possibilityThere's a distinct possibility I won't be able to make it to the pub tonight.

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in all probability

used to mean that something is very likely:

She will, in all probability, have left before we arrive.

More examplesFewer examples

What's the probability of that happening?
There's a strong probability that we'll have moved by then.
There's a distinct probability that Philip will be there.
There's a high probability that she'll get the job.
Against all probability we found ourselves in the same hotel.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Possible and probable

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(Definition of probability from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

probability | American Dictionary

probability

noun [ C/U ]

/ˌprɑb·əˈbɪl·ɪ·t̬i/

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mathematics

a number that represents how likely it is that a particular thing will happen

mathematics

Probability is the study of the mathematics of calculating the likelihood that particular events will happen.

the likelihood of something happening or being true:

[ C ] There’s a higher probability of now having a state income tax (= the tax is more likely now).

In all probability he would never see her again (= very likely he would not see her again).

(Definition of probability from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

probability | Business English

probability

noun [ C or U ]

/ˌprɒbəˈbɪləti/ us

plural probabilities

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the level of possibility that something will happen or is true:

high/low/strong probability There is a strong probability that the country will fall into recession again.

probability of sth Spam filters calculate the probability of a message being spam.

assess/calculate/estimate the probabilities They also estimated the probabilities of dividend increases and decreases under certain circumstances.

(Definition of probability from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of probability

probability

Transition probabilities were calculated directly from clinical trial data for the first 3 years and then extrapolated to 10 years.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

We assume that the age differences within a cohort are small enough to consider these subgroups as being homogeneous with respect to transition probabilities.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The main interest is in characterizing how precisely we can 'bound' the probabilities associated with various atoms.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

His treatment is probabilistic, where probabilities are obtained from statistical data, rather than being subjective probabilities.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The probabilities here can be derived from statistical data on the relative frequency of prescriptions of drugs under given conditions.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

At each cycle of the process, the cohort is reallocated to health states according to specified transition probabilities.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

A better position, surely, would be to consider the objective probabilities of the unrealized alternatives.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

I hold that cases in which (only) numbers are different are structurally similar to cases in which (only) probabilities are different.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The probabilities that seedlings reached reproductive size were estimated to be between 2.8 and 5%.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Then, for each grid, we add the square of the difference of two probabilities.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Conversely, canopy trees show slower dynamics, with probabilities of mortality and recruitment lowered by a mean factor of about 0.5 with respect to other species.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

All probabilities are appropriately conditioned on the observed data, and users can find any probabilities of interest.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Evaluating and combining physicians' probabilities of survival in an intensive care unit.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The survival for the first year was estimated by multiplying the matrix detailing the monthly probabilities by itself between 1 and 12 times.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The majority of studies presented both positive and negative outcomes of the intervention/treatment decisions, and one third attached probabilities to these outcomes.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

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These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.