Amortized complexity in layman's terms?

Question

Can someone explain amortized complexity in layman\'s terms? I\'ve been having a hard time finding a precise definition online and I don\'t know how it entirely relates to

Answer 1

It is somewhat similar to multiplying worst case complexity of different branches in an algorithm with the probability of executing that branch, and adding the results. So if some branch is very unlikely to be taken, it contributes less to the complexity.