Definition of "degree of freedom" []

• Statistics Any of the unrestricted, independent random variables that constitute a statistic. (noun)
• Physics Any of the minimum number of coordinates required to specify completely the motion of a mechanical system. (noun)
• Physics Any of the independent thermodynamic variables, such as pressure, temperature, or composition, required to specify a system with a given number of phases and components. (noun)

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 degree of freedom evident in this network of overlapping group-affiliations of the higher civil servant in France is greater than it would be in an assignment fixed to a specific locality."