Likelihood refers to the chance or probability that a specific event will occur. It is often expressed as a percentage or a fraction, indicating how likely it is for something to happen compared to other possible outcomes. For example, if there is a 60% likelihood of rain tomorrow, it means that rain is expected more often than not. In statistics, likelihood is used to assess how well a model explains observed data. It helps researchers determine which model best fits the data by comparing the likelihoods of different models. This concept is crucial in fields like science, economics, and machine learning.