regression analysis

noun

1. Statistics. a procedure for determining a relationship between a dependent variable, as predicted success in college, and an independent variable, as a score on a scholastic aptitude test, for a given population. The relationship is expressed as an equation for a line regression·line or curve regression·curve in which any coefficient regression coefficient of the independent variable in the equation has been determined from a sample population.

Word History and Origins

Origin of regression analysis¹

First recorded in 1945–50