1. (electronics) graph showing how a particular characteristic of a device varies with other parameters
   "The transistor's characteristic function helped the engineer determine its optimal operating conditions";
   - characteristic curve
    
2. (mathematics) a function that maps elements of a set to either 0 or 1, indicating membership or non-membership in a subset
   "The characteristic function of even numbers equals 1 for even integers and 0 for odd integers"
    
3. (probability theory) a function that uniquely determines the probability distribution of a random variable, defined as the expected value of exp(itX) where X is the random variable and t is real
   "The characteristic function is useful for deriving properties of probability distributions"

Derived forms: characteristic functions

Type of: graph, graphical record, graphical recording

Encyclopedia: Characteristic function