Littlewood's law

proper noun

The observation that a person can expect to experience an event with odds of one in a million approximately once per month.

Meanings

proper noun
  1. The observation that a person can expect to experience an event with odds of one in a million approximately once per month.

Origin

The law was framed by Cambridge University Professor John Edensor Littlewood, and published in a 1986 collection of his work.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Littlewood's law. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Littlewood's%20law

MLA

“Littlewood's law.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Littlewood's%20law. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Littlewood's law,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Littlewood's%20law.

Source: Littlewood's law on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.