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information theory

American  

noun

  1. the mathematical theory concerned with the content, transmission, storage, and retrieval of information, usually in the form of messages or data, and especially by means of computers.

information theory British  

noun

  1. a collection of mathematical theories, based on statistics, concerned with methods of coding, transmitting, storing, retrieving, and decoding information

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
information theory Scientific  

  1. A branch of mathematics that mathematically defines and analyzes the concept of information. Information theory involves statistics and probability theory, and applications include the design of systems that have to do with data transmission, encryption, compression, and other information processing.

Etymology

Origin of information theory

First recorded in 1945–50

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Yet from the standpoint of information theory, the same ideas could theoretically be transmitted in a far more compressed format.

From Science Daily

Tattered spy novels, texts on information theory and binary multipliers, and an old Polish-English dictionary.

From Literature

To explore the issue, Endres applied principles from information theory and algorithmic complexity to estimate what it would take for the first simple cell, known as a protocell, to assemble itself from basic chemical ingredients.

From Science Daily

Cybernetics is basically information theory or the mathematics of information applied in contexts of control.

From Salon

"With Gašper's expertise in information theory, we were able to put it together," Brückner adds excitedly.

From Science Daily

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.