Markov chain

This term is a technical expression used primarily in mathematics, statistics, and computer science. It describes a specific type of random process where the future state depends only on the current state, not on the sequence of events that preceded it. This characteristic is known as the memoryless property.

In practical application, it is frequently used in algorithms like PageRank for web searching or in natural language processing for predicting the next word in a sequence. Because it is a specialized scientific term, it is almost exclusively found in academic, technical, or professional contexts rather than in casual conversation.