Glossary · jitter
Jitter
Variation in the interval between samples or packets — instability around the mean.
Used in three contexts: mouse polling jitter (how much intervals vary between reports), network jitter (variation in ping), and audio jitter (clock variation in digital audio). High jitter means the *average* number is correct but individual samples are unpredictable. Coefficient of variation (CV) expresses jitter as a percentage of the mean.