data mining

American  

noun

Digital Technology.

1. the process of collecting, searching through, and analyzing a large amount of data in a database, as to discover patterns or relationships.

   the use of data mining to detect fraud.

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data mining British  

noun

1. the gathering of information from pre-existing data stored in a database, such as one held by a supermarket about customers' shopping habits

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data mining Cultural  

1. The technique of identifying patterns and relationships within large databases through the use of advanced statistical methods.

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Etymology

Origin of data mining

First recorded in 1985–90