random

Pluralrandoms

Formsrandoms, randoming, randomed

1. 1
   adjective

   Happening, done, chosen, or arranged without a definite plan, method, or pattern.

   She opened the book to a random page and started reading.

   The guard searched a few random bags at the entrance.

   UsageOften before a noun: a random page, random checks; for how something is done, say at random or randomly.

   Similararbitrary, haphazard, chance, unplanned

   Oppositedeliberate, systematic, planned, methodical

2. 2
   adjective

   Having an outcome that cannot be predicted in advance but is governed by definite probabilities (a probability distribution), whether produced by a true chance process or imitated by a computer program (pseudorandom).

   Each spin of the wheel produces a random outcome governed by fixed probabilities.

   Researchers assigned patients to groups using a random process.

   Similarstochastic, probabilistic, chance

   Oppositedeterministic, predictable

   Note

   Statistics gives the word a strict sense. Random does not mean patternless; it means unpredictable case by case, yet described as a whole by a probability distribution. A fair coin is the textbook example, and random sample is the stock phrase. Aleatory and stochastic are near-synonyms in technical writing. None of them carries the everyday "haphazard" of the ordinary adjective. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

   • Random outcomes can be individually unpredictable while exhibiting predictable statistical patterns. connectedmath.msu.edu
   • A probability distribution describes the probabilities of a random variable's possible values. stat.berkeley.edu
   • Tossing a fair coin is a standard teaching example of randomness. stat20.berkeley.edu
3. 3
   adjectivecolloquial

   Coming out of nowhere and unconnected to the situation or to what was being discussed; (of a person) given to making such unexpected, disconnected remarks.

   The meeting was derailed by a random question that had nothing to do with the agenda.

   My brother sent me a random text at 2 a.m. asking about his old skateboard.

   UsageOften a random question, a random comment, a random text.

   Oppositerelevant, pertinent

4. 4
   nouncolloquialfigurativelycountable

   An unknown, unimportant person; someone of no particular significance to the situation.

   The party was full of randoms nobody had actually invited.

   Don't just hand your phone to some random on the street.

   UsageOften some random or in the plural randoms: talking to some random, full of randoms.

   Similarnobody, rando, nonentity

5. 5
   by chancenoununcountable

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

   The guests were seated at random, with no plan to the arrangement.

   He flipped through the book at random, landing on whatever page came up.

   UsageAlmost always in at random: chosen at random, open a book at random.

   Note

   It now lives almost wholly in the phrase at random, as in Herrick's counsels that "fly / At random" (1648) and Scott's shaft, "at random sent" (1815), which finds a mark the archer never meant. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

   • Herrick's poem contains the quoted words, with the indicated line break. gutenberg.org
   • The Herrick quotation appeared in Hesperides, published in 1648. rpo.library.utoronto.ca
   • Scott wrote the quoted phrase and described a shaft finding an unintended mark. gutenberg.org
   • The Scott quotation comes from The Lord of the Isles, first published in 1815. walterscott.lib.ed.ac.uk
6. 6
   adjectiveslangUK

   Out of the ordinary; strikingly odd, unusual, or unexpected.

   The pub had put on a random talent night with a man juggling kettles.

   It was a totally random thing to wear to a wedding.

   UsageOften after so or totally: That's so random!, totally random.

   Similarbizarre, weird, odd, strange, unusual

   Oppositeordinary, normal, conventional

   Note

   British slang turns the word into an exclamation of surprise: That's so random! It judges something as bizarre, not merely unconnected, and that is what separates it from the "apropos of nothing" meaning.

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