AI engineering glossary · Statistics inference
What is likelihood function?
Likelihood function: A function of the model parameters that gives the probability (or density) of the observed data as those parameters vary, with the data held fixed. Higher values mean the parameters explain the data better.
Likelihood function: an example
For 7 heads in 10 coin flips, the likelihood of head-probability p is proportional to p^7 * (1 - p)^3, highest near p = 0.7.
Related terms
More Statistics inference terms
- Likelihood ratio test
- Log-likelihood
- Mann-Whitney U test
- Margin of error
- Maximum a posteriori estimation
- Minimum detectable effect
- Multiple comparisons problem
- Non-parametric test
Where you learn it
Likelihood function is part of the AI Engineering Program, which teaches it with notes, a hands-on lab and an exam. The first lesson is free.