Definition of "stochastic" [sto•chas•tic]

• Of, relating to, or characterized by conjecture; conjectural. (adjective)
• Statistics Involving or containing a random variable or variables: stochastic calculus. (adjective)
• Statistics Involving chance or probability: a stochastic stimulation. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The experimental technique has entered the annals of science under the name of "stochastic cooling.""
• "The irregular trend in integrated series is known as a stochastic trend as opposed to a simple linear deterministic time trend."
• "It seems farfetched, but it's based on a physical principle called stochastic resonance."