random
nounadjectiveverbcommon in dialogue
- //ˈɹændəm//
A roving motion; course without definite direction; lack of rule or method; chance.
noun
- 1
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
obsoleteSpeed, full speed; impetuosity, force.
they were messagers vnto kyng Ban & Bors sent from kynge Arthur / therfor said the viij knyghtes ye shalle dye or be prysoners / for we ben knyghtes of kyng Claudas And therwith two of them dressid theire sperys / and Vlfyus and Brastias dressid theire speres and ranne to gyder with grete raundon
[…] 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
obsoleteThe 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
figurativeAn undefined, unknown or unimportant person; a person of no consequence.
The party was boring. It was full of randoms.
‘The days I had to have sex with randoms, I thought thank God!’ Jamie Bell on eye-popping drama Half Man [title]
- 5
The direction of a rake-vein.
- 6
historicalA 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
Etymology
From earlier randon, from Middle English randoun, raundon, from Old French randon, from randir (“to run, gallop”) (whence French randonnée (“long walk, hike”)), from Frankish *randiju (“a run, race”) or Old Norse rend (“a run, race”), both from Proto-Germanic *randijō, from *rinnaną (“run”, verb), from Proto-Indo-European *(H)r̥-nw- (“to flow, move, run”). Cognate with Middle Low German uprinden (“to jump up”), Danish rende (“to run”). See run.
adjective
- 1
Occurring for no particular reason; haphazard, unpredictable.
Our city is plagued by random acts of violence.
random acts of kindness
- 2
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.
The results of the field survey look random by several different measures.
- 3
Pseudorandom; mimicking the result of random selection.
The rand function generates a random number from a seed.
- 4
informalSelected 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.
Whatever random hobby you're into, there's an Internet community for it.
- 5
informalBeing (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.
- 6
informalApropos 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.
I feel like pineapple is a very random thing to put on a pizza.
- 7
informalOf 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.
- 8
slangBeing 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!
verb
- 1
To wander; to stray; to meander.
Forms
- plural
- randoms
- comparative
- more random
- superlative
- most random
- past tense
- randomed
- past participle
- randomed
- present participle
- randoming
- third person singular
- randoms
random · A roving motion; course without definite direction; lack of rule or method; chance.
randomly · In a random manner.randy · Sexually aroused; full of sexual lust.Randy · A diminutive of the male given names Randall or Randolph,…