skip list

noun

A probabilistic data structure that allows fast search within an ordered sequence of elements by maintaining a linked hierarchy of subsequences, with each successive subsequence skipping over fewer elements than the previous one.

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Meanings

nounskip list (plural skip lists)

plural skip lists

  1. computerA probabilistic data structure that allows fast search within an ordered sequence of elements by maintaining a linked hierarchy of subsequences, with each successive subsequence skipping over fewer elements than the previous one.

    Skip list follows a linked list alike structure. However, the worst case time complexity for a search operation in linked list in O(n) as the list is linearly traversed while searching whereas for a skip list it is O(#92;logn).

    2021, Neeraj Kumar, Arzoo Miglani, Probabilistic Data Structures for Blockchain-Based Internet of Things Applications, CRC Press, →ISBN, page 187
Cite this entry
APA

skip list. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/skip%20list

MLA

“skip list.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/skip%20list. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “skip list,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/skip%20list.

Source: skip list on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.