correlation
Americannoun
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mutual relation of two or more things, parts, etc..
Studies find a positive correlation between severity of illness and nutritional status of the patients.
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the act of correlating or state of being correlated.
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Statistics. the degree to which two or more attributes or measurements on the same group of elements show a tendency to vary together.
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Physiology. the interdependence or reciprocal relations of organs or functions.
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Geology. the demonstrable equivalence, in age or lithology, of two or more stratigraphic units, as formations or members of such.
noun
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a mutual or reciprocal relationship between two or more things
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the act or process of correlating or the state of being correlated
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statistics the extent of correspondence between the ordering of two variables. Correlation is positive or direct when two variables move in the same direction and negative or inverse when they move in opposite directions
Pop Culture
—Pearson correlation coefficient: a value between -1 and +1 that represents the relationship between two variables.
Other Word Forms
- correlational adjective
- intercorrelation noun
- miscorrelation noun
- noncorrelation noun
Etymology
Origin of correlation
First recorded in 1555–65; from Medieval Latin: correlātiōn- (stem of correlātiō ); cor-, relation
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"There's no good, clear correlation between wealth and energy bills."
From BBC
But the correlation between the experiences of her youth and those of her later life wasn’t the only thing driving Goldin’s unwavering denouncement of the Sacklers.
From Salon
When collection tins were used, Phelps said there was "no correlation" between what went out and what came in.
From BBC
Trivariate screened for a list of value stocks with low correlations to oil and attractive gross margins, which could outperform in the current market.
From Barron's
He explained that language emphasizing causation over correlation and other results biases is a problem in scientific research at-large, but in his opinion, this is an egregious example.
From Salon
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
