correlation

American  

[kawr-uh-ley-shuhn, kor-] / ˌkɔr əˈleɪ ʃən, ˌkɒr- /

especially British, corelation

noun

• correlations
  plural

1. mutual relation of two or more things, parts, etc..

   Studies find a positive correlation between severity of illness and nutritional status of the patients.

   Synonyms:

   interconnection, interrelationship, interdependence, equivalence, parallelism, correspondence, similarity

2. the act of correlating or state of being correlated.

3. Statistics. the degree to which two or more attributes or measurements on the same group of elements show a tendency to vary together.

4. Physiology. the interdependence or reciprocal relations of organs or functions.

5. Geology. the demonstrable equivalence, in age or lithology, of two or more stratigraphic units, as formations or members of such.

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correlation British  

/ ˌkɒrɪˈleɪʃən /

noun

1. a mutual or reciprocal relationship between two or more things

2. the act or process of correlating or the state of being correlated

3. 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

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Pop Culture

—Pearson correlation coefficient: a value between -1 and +1 that represents the relationship between two variables.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• intercorrelation
  noun
• miscorrelation
  noun
• noncorrelation
  noun
• correlational
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• correlations
  plural

Etymology

Origin of correlation

First recorded in 1555–65; from Medieval Latin: correlātiōn- (stem of correlātiō ); see cor-, relation

Explanation

Correlation is something that scientists are often trying to show––is there a correlation between smoking and poor health or between napping and productivity? How about daily flossing and good grades? Correlation derives from the Latin cor- 'together' and -relatio 'relation'––the word is all about things that go together. But beware: just because a study shows a correlation between two variables, it doesn't mean one necessarily causes the other. There is a significant correlation between going to high school and being a teenager, but that doesn't mean that going to high school causes you to be a teenager.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

correlation correlations

Take a look at the above chart, which plots the correlation between earnings-growth rates and the S&P 500’s return.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 17, 2026

But there is actually a positive correlation with student debt and homeownership, since people with more student debt tend to earn more.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

The department said that while there is a correlation between marital status and accident rates, it said that correlation could be driven by secondary factors, such as income, educational attainment and employment.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026

A spokesperson added: "There is a direct correlation between hospital handover delays and our ability to get to patients in the community quickly."

From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026

But in all these cases, there is a correlation that has to do with affinity, sensibility, and ability.

From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove

It provides a unified—and somewhat badass—identity for a confusing set of weather correlations.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

But Mitchell wants you to make those correlations, too.

From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026

That result is especially important because such correlations cannot be explained by classical physics and instead provide evidence that genuine quantum entanglement was produced.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 8, 2026

The researchers caution that the study found correlations and cannot establish cause and effect.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 7, 2026

It is a powerful—if limited—tool that uses statistical techniques to identify otherwise elusive correlations.

From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt

Related Words

• interaction
• interrelationship
• parallel