correlation

American  

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

especially British, corelation

noun

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

• 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

However, the researchers note that the findings show a correlation, not cause and effect, and that factors like motivation or self-discipline may also influence outcomes.

From Science Daily • Mar. 30, 2026

“If the yield breaks above its 2023 peak of 3.65%, reaching 18-year highs, we can expect the correlation to continue weakening toward an inverse correlation.”

From Barron's • Mar. 27, 2026

Ongoing studies at the Shark Lab suggest that there might actually be a correlation between the high number of people in the ocean and the relatively low number of shark bites.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 26, 2026

This conclusion wouldn’t be the end of the story if there were a plausible explanation for why the correlation changes over time.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 21, 2026

From a historical perspective, however, the lack of correlation between crime and punishment is nothing new.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

Related Words

• interaction
• interrelationship
• parallel