correlation
Americannoun
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correlations
plural
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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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
Vocabulary lists containing correlation
100 SAT words Beginning with "C"
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This Week in Words: February 2 - 8, 2019
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Commonly Confused Words, List 2
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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.
See Examples For:
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
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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
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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.