[ adj ] lacking any definite plan or order or purpose; governed by or depending on chance <adj.all> a random choicebombs fell at random random movements
Random \Ran"dom\ (r[a^]n"d[u^]m), n. [OE. randon, OF. randon force, violence, rapidity, [`a] randon, de randon, violently, suddenly, rapidly, prob. of German origin; cf. G. rand edge, border, OHG. rant shield, edge of a shield, akin to E. rand, n. See {Rand}, n.] 1. Force; violence. [Obs.]
For courageously the two kings newly fought with great random and force. --E. Hall.
2. A roving motion; course without definite direction; want of direction, rule, or method; hazard; chance; -- commonly used in the phrase at random, that is, without a settled point of direction; at hazard.
Counsels, when they fly At random, sometimes hit most happily. --Herrick.
O, many a shaft, at random sent, Finds mark the archer little meant! --Sir W. Scott.
3. Distance to which a missile is cast; range; reach; as, the random of a rifle ball. --Sir K. Digby.
4. (Mining) The direction of a rake-vein. --Raymond.
Random \Ran"dom\, a. 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. --Wordsworth.
So sharp a spur to the lazy, and so strong a bridle to the random. --H. Spencer.
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. [PJC]
3. (Construction) of unequal size or shape; made from components of unequal size or shape. [PJC]
{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.
"What are the chances of this person in Iowa calling a random number in Tempe and getting a recording" describing a suicide attempt?
The American Trucking Associations' executive committee voted Wednesday to support random testing even though some of its members have reservations about the federal program that takes effect at the end of the year.
Sinn Fein, the outlawed Irish Republican Army's legal wing, accused Protestant extremists of carrying out a random sectarian attack.
Now both are entering larger, random trials where each will be pitted against placebos, or dummy drugs, and judged by doctors without knowledge of who's getting what.
What's more, he's "not scary." That's how the Republican presidential nominee sized up President Reagan during an impromptu lunch with two fifth graders he plucked at random from a crowd at a downtown rally in Pekin, Ill.
"Domestic fights, or armed robberies," he recalled in a recent interview. "Nothing like these." Both Hooks and Roper appeared to have been chosen at random and neither knew their attackers, police say.
American Civil Liberties Union attorney Arthur B. Spitzer said the case means that any government employee with a "secret" clearance will eventually be subjected to random drug testing.
The random testing is expected to begin after Jan. 14, Kortan said.
If there is a group in our society in which mandatory, random testing would have potential for saving lives, the public transportation industry is it.
The new Media General-AP survey was conducted by telephone May 11-20 among a random sample of 1,143 adults across the country.
Skinner noted that 25,349 random drug tests conducted on department employees resulted in only 141 positive tests, a rate of about 0.5 percent.
The body of a man killed by a gunshot wound to his head was found near a housing project about 2 a.m., the likely victim of random gunfire, said Hepburn.
Other useful items of information are strewn about the pages at random, not neatly boxed, as is usually the case.
The Reagan White House, chafing over revelations of drug abuse by presidential employees in sensitive jobs, announced Thursday that all 1,600 workers on its payroll will be subject to random narcotics tests in about 60 days.
This Associated Press poll was conducted by telephone July 20-24 among a random sample of 1,004 adults in the continental United States.
However, random interviews with window shoppers along Stroeget, a pedestrian street in Copenhagen, suggest many people are more worried about the country's weak economy than its military role.
As part of a campaign announced in March, random cans of Coca-Cola Classic were to be equipped with mechanisms to eject cash or prize certificates when the cans were opened.
Kidder Peabody noted that prices of dynamic random access memory chips have risen recently, contrary to expectations they would remain flat or even fall slightly, given the current weak economic conditions.
But random conversations with a score of merchants indicated that fear, not politics, is keeping the shops shuttered.
A judge has ruled that random drug tests proposed for Boston police officers are unconstitutional.
Supporters say random testing is the only true deterrent to drug and alcohol abuse, while opponents say such testing is an invasion of privacy and is often inaccurate.
They are more compact and cheaper but also slower than static random access memory chips, known as S-RAMs.
One of two prosecutors shot during a robbery died Friday, soon after he was taken off life-support and hours after a man found sleeping on a beach was charged in what police said was a random crime.
The random telephone survey, conducted by a Washington polling concern in early June, also shows that people regard safety as a far greater air-travel problem than flight delays.
An election-year bill requiring random drug and alcohol testing for railroad workers seems to be headed for a roadblock in the Senate, even though it has breezed through the House.
Bush's approval rating as president stood at 76 percent among the 1,535 adults interviewed at random for the survey, which was conducted between Sept. 28 and Oct. 3 and reported on in Thursday editions of the newspaper.
Goldman's team studied genes of 40 living alcoholics and 127 living people from a random population sample.
Those oddly random purchases helped shape and color Mr. Rubin's most prized relationships.
The plant will make static random access memory chips (SRAMs) and eventually dynamic random access memory chips, also called DRAMs. SRAMs are faster but more expensive than the more common DRAMs. Japan dominates the world market for computer memory chips.
The plant will make static random access memory chips (SRAMs) and eventually dynamic random access memory chips, also called DRAMs. SRAMs are faster but more expensive than the more common DRAMs. Japan dominates the world market for computer memory chips.