false-positive
noun
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false-positive
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false positive
false positivenouna result in a medical test that wrongly indicates the presence of the condition being tested for
false-positive
American
[fawls-poz-i-tiv]
/ ˈfɔlsˈpɒz ɪ tɪv /
noun
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Medicine/Medical.
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a test result that is incorrect because the test indicated a condition or finding that does not exist.
a false-positive for syphilis.
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a person who receives this test result.
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any screening test result that incorrectly detected or classified a person or thing.
A false-positive at the airport could cause you to miss your flight.
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a person or thing identified by such a test.
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adjective
false positive
British
noun
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a result in a medical test that wrongly indicates the presence of the condition being tested for
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a person from whom such a result is obtained
Etymology
Origin of false-positive
First recorded in 1910–15
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.
It correctly distinguished pancreatic cancer cases from non-cases 91.9% of the time across all stages, with a false positive rate of 5% in non-cases.
From Science Daily • Mar. 23, 2026
Nurses and doctors working for UnitedHealth previously told the Journal that the test often produced false positive results.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 12, 2026
“Because of the large ovarian cyst that had been growing for years, it could have been a false positive, even ovarian cancer,” Lopez said of her pregnancy.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 12, 2025
The first test result - which the couple say was the basis on which they decided to terminate the pregnancy - had been a false positive.
From BBC • Feb. 6, 2025
The calculation is similar to the one on false positive results in drug testing, and, like it, demonstrates that misinterpreting fractions can be a matter of life and death.
From "Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and Its Consequences" by John Allen Paulos
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.
