statistical significance

Cultural  

1. In statistics, a number that expresses the probability that the result of a given experiment or study could have occurred purely by chance. This number can be a margin of error (“The results of this public opinion poll are accurate to five percent”), or it can indicate a confidence level (“If this experiment were repeated, there is a probability of ninety-five percent that our conclusions would be substantiated”).

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Example Sentences

"The statistical significance of this is not high enough to claim a detection of dark matter, and further checks should be performed by independent groups," Aurrekoetxea says.

From Science Daily • May 19, 2026

Grail says there was a substantial increase in the number of stage-1 and 2 cancers detected in the NHS trial, but didn’t say if the increase reached statistical significance.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 2, 2026

The move came after Sarepta said the results of a trial for two of its gene-therapy drugs targeting Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a rare muscle-wasting illness, hadn’t reached statistical significance.

From Barron's • Nov. 4, 2025

While studies showed that Sarepta’s Amondys 45 and Vyondys 53 treatments for Duchenne muscular dystrophy worked better than placebos, the company said the results did not reach statistical significance.

From MarketWatch • Nov. 3, 2025

If some celebrity endorses a brand of dog food, or some cabdriver disapproves of the mayor’s handling of a dilemma, there’s obviously no reason to accord statistical significance to these personal expressions.

From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos