the law of averages

law of averages

The idea that no one result will happen all the time. Don't worry, you'll score a goal eventually. It's just the law of averages.

See also: average, law, of

Farlex Dictionary of Idioms. © 2024 Farlex, Inc, all rights reserved.

law of averages

The idea that probability will influence all occurrences in the long term, that one will neither win nor lose all of the time. For example, If it rains every day this week, by the law of averages we're bound to get a sunny day soon . This colloquial term is a popular interpretation of a statistical principle, Bernoulli's theorem, formulated in the late 1600s.

See also: average, law, of

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer. Copyright © 2003, 1997 by The Christine Ammer 1992 Trust. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

the ˌlaw of ˈaverages

the principle that one thing will happen as often as another if you try enough times: Keep applying for jobs and by the law of averages you’ll get one sooner or later.

See also: average, law, of

Farlex Partner Idioms Dictionary © Farlex 2017