curve fitting

American  

noun

Statistics.

1. the determination of a curve that fits a specified set of points.

   The method of least squares is commonly used for curve fitting.

---

Other Word Forms

• curve-fitting adjective

Etymology

Origin of curve fitting

First recorded in 1920–25

Example Sentences

It’s a characteristic feature of this kind of analysis, called “curve fitting,” that you can extrapolate from observed data without any knowledge of the mechanism underlying whatever real-life thing you’re studying.

From Slate

Such “curve fitting” renders the program incapable of making meaningful predictions, he says.

From Science Magazine

Müller, H. G. Weighted local regression and kernel methods for nonparametric curve fitting.

From Nature

The light curve fitting code described here is publicly available at the following website: https://star.pst.qub.ac.uk/wiki/doku.php/users/ajerkstrand/lightcurvecodes.

From Nature

The one thing they seem to have in common is methodological flaws like cherry picking, curve fitting, ignoring inconvenient data, and disregarding known physics.”

From Scientific American