When the probability (or observed frequency) of data items far from the central value is large. This can be true of a symmetric distribution such as the Cauchy distribution, but is more often associated with asymmetric long-tail distributions especially the power-law distribution found in areas such as network data.
Also used in hcistats2e: Chap. 4: page 54
Used in glossary entries: Cauchy distribution, network data, power-law distribution
