# randomly

/ˈɹændəmɫi/ (US) · /ɹˈændəmli/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/randomly
Updated: 2026-06-20

## Senses

### 1. by chance

adverb · CEFR B1

without a plan, pattern, or reason.

For teachers: in a manner lacking any definite plan, purpose, or pattern; by chance.

- The computer chooses a winner randomly from all the people who entered the contest.
- The survey participants were selected randomly from the national database to ensure the results were not biased toward any specific demographic group.

### 2. non-sequentially

adverb · CEFR C1 · Technical

in a way that lets you access any part of information at any time, rather than following a list.

For teachers: referring to the ability to access data elements in any order without having to process preceding items.

- The software accesses the files randomly to speed up the search process.
- Unlike magnetic tape which must be wound to a specific point, modern hard drives can access data blocks randomly with minimal latency.

Usage: Often used to describe memory access (RAM) or data retrieval from a disk.

## Examples

- The computer picks a winner randomly from the list.
- The software generates a password by selecting characters randomly to ensure maximum security.
- The participants were assigned randomly to either the control group or the experimental group to eliminate selection bias from the study's results.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.