In English Please

When I'm at my writing desk, I'll sometimes randomly flip through the pages of my dictionary to learn a new word or two. I received a new dictionary for my birthday last month, so I'm doing a little more page flipping than usual to familiarize myself with some of the added features my old dictionary did not have.

A consecutive run of entries having two words back to back caught my eye. In my mind, dictionaries list single words followed by a definition. What was the deal with these multiple word entries?

I zoomed in on binomial distribution the definition for which is: a probability function each of whose values gives the probability than an outcome with constant probability of occurrence in a statistical experiment will occur a given number of times in a succession of repetitions of the experiment.

Funny - I was sure I had received a dictionary of the English language. Perhaps the person who gave me the dictionary had mistakenly picked up the version for lawyers and politicians.

Here's my thing - dictionaries are supposed to be helpful. I know no more now about binomial whatever than I did before. I'm assuming it is a mathematical formula of some kind - in which case that's what the definition should say: a mathematical formula.

Here's my other thing - If we've reached the point where we need to string words together to convey what a single word ought to be able to do, then we've become way too technologically minded for our own good.