Jump To:

• false-positive
  false-positive
• false positive
  false positive

  noun

  a result in a medical test that wrongly indicates the presence of the condition being tested for

false-positive

American  

[fawls-poz-i-tiv] / ˈfɔlsˈpɒz ɪ tɪv /

noun

1. Medicine/Medical.

   1. a test result that is incorrect because the test indicated a condition or finding that does not exist.

      a false-positive for syphilis.

   2. a person who receives this test result.

2. 1. any screening test result that incorrectly detected or classified a person or thing.

      A false-positive at the airport could cause you to miss your flight.

   2. a person or thing identified by such a test.

---

adjective

1. pertaining to or being a false-positive.

   The test has a false-positive rate of 4%.

false positive British  

noun

1. a result in a medical test that wrongly indicates the presence of the condition being tested for

2. a person from whom such a result is obtained

---

Etymology

Origin of false-positive

First recorded in 1910–15

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

false-positive false positive

There are also worries about the costs and anxiety that can accompany a false-positive test.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026

But the government retracted that position less than 24-hours later, saying on Sunday that it was a false-positive.

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

Of course, so much of what’s otherwise known points a finger directly back at Taylor Farms, false-positive atom splitting notwithstanding, and there’s only so much the company can do to deflect.

From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2026

A spokesman for Dadss says the technology is still being tested and improved, so it is too early to estimate a hypothetical false-positive rate.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 18, 2025

Along with its strong sensitivity and low false-positive rate, PEM could potentially decrease downstream healthcare costs as this study shows it may prevent further unnecessary work up compared to MRI.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 9, 2024

A false positive can send someone into scans and biopsies they never needed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 1, 2026

Many tools publish percentage figures about their accuracy, but the figures are impossible to verify and do not take into account the risk of a false positive.

From Barron's ● Sep. 25, 2026

However, FDA officials said the false positive did not change the course of the outbreak investigation, “or the overwhelming epidemiological data supporting the ... voluntary recall by Taylor Farms.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 12, 2026

Unless you go through it, it can be difficult to understand how destabilizing a false positive can be.

From Slate ● Sep. 9, 2026

The calculation is similar to the one on false positive results in drug testing, and, like it, demonstrates that misinterpreting fractions can be a matter of life and death.

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

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---