variety meaning

Noun: variety  vu'rIutee

1. A collection containing a variety of sorts of things
   "he had a variety of disorders"
   - assortment, mixture, mixed bag, miscellany, miscellanea, salmagundi, smorgasbord, potpourri, motley 
2. Noticeable heterogeneity
   "the range and variety of his work is amazing"
   - diverseness, diversity, multifariousness 
3. (biology) a taxonomic category consisting of members of a species that differ from others of the same species in minor but heritable characteristics
   "varieties are frequently recognized in botany" 
4. A show consisting of a series of short unrelated performances
   - variety show 
5. A category of things distinguished by some common characteristic or quality
   - kind, sort, form 
6. A difference that is usually pleasant
   "he goes to France for variety"
   - change

Derived forms: varieties

See also: unvaried, unvarying, varied

Type of: accumulation, aggregation, assemblage, category, collection, difference, heterogeneity, heterogeneousness, show, taxon, taxonomic category, taxonomic group

Part of: species

Encyclopedia: Variety Variety, the Children's Charity

[Business]
noun (plural varieties)

1 [C]

a type of a thing, for example a plant or product, that is different from the others in the same general group:

They sell seven varieties of apple/apples.

I've been buying the same variety of toothpaste for years.

2 [C, usually sing.]

several different sorts of the same thing:

We have a wide variety of models to choose from.

He resigned for a variety of reasons.

This tool can be used in a variety of ways.

3 [U]

the quality of not being the same or not doing the same thing all the time:

I like to have a lot of variety in my work.

[Economics]
1) A particular good differentiated by specification or brand name from other similar goods.

2) The existence of a large number of varieties in sense 1. Variety is good for consumers partly because their exact requirements differ, so that a wide choice gives more chance that they can obtain goods which are a good approximation to their ideal specification, and partly because individual consumers want the ability to vary their consumption over time. A large proportion of the real gains from economic growth and integration derives from increases in the variety of products available.

[Medicine]
n pl -ties : any of various groups of plants or animals ranking below a species : SUBSPECIES

[Systems engineering]
The logarithm (usually to base 2) of the number of discriminations that an observer or a sensing system can make relative to a system.

Examples

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1. this shop has a satisfactory variety of goods.
2. the only road was of the "shelf" variety.
3. all varieties of goods for daily use are available.
4. this variety is susceptible to fire blight.
5. he unhesitatingly ranks them as varieties.