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correlation coefficient

American  

noun

Statistics.
  1. one of a number of measures of correlation, usually assuming values from +1 to −1.


correlation coefficient British  

noun

  1. statistics a statistic measuring the degree of correlation between two variables as by dividing their covariance by the square root of the product of their variances. The closer the correlation coefficient is to 1 or –1 the greater the correlation; if it is random, the coefficient is zero See also Pearson's correlation coefficient Spearman's rank-order coefficient

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of correlation coefficient

First recorded in 1905–10

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.

However, the correlation coefficient between the two rose to 0.97 — a correlation of 1.00 means they always move in the same direction — compared with a year-to-date correlation of just 0.55.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 1, 2025

The correlation coefficient between the stock and bitcoin during that time was 0.80.

From MarketWatch • Nov. 17, 2025

According to Kim, people often think first of Pearson's correlation coefficient when they hear the word agreement, since it is introduced early in statistics education and remains a fundamental tool.

From Science Daily • Nov. 14, 2025

Conclusion: There is sufficient evidence to conclude that there is a significant linear relationship between X1 and X2 because the correlation coefficient is significantly different from zero.

From Textbooks • Nov. 29, 2017

I should never be disposed to accept conclusions based on a "correlation coefficient" unless there were other converging evidence to support it.

From The Value of Money by Anderson, Benjamin M.