standard error

American  

noun

Statistics.

1. the standard deviation of a distribution of a sample statistic, especially when the mean is used as the statistic.

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standard error British  

noun

1. statistics the estimated standard deviation of a parameter, the value of which is not known exactly

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standard error Scientific  

1. The standard deviations of the sample in a frequency distribution, obtained by dividing the standard deviation by the total number of cases in the frequency distribution.

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Etymology

Origin of standard error

First recorded in 1895–1900

Compare meaning

How does standard-error compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• standard deviation vs. standard error

Example Sentences

So, each IQ test score has a standard error of measurement that accounts for the margin of error above and below the test-taker’s score.

From Slate • Dec. 8, 2025

The margin of error depends on the confidence level or percentage of confidence and the standard error of the mean.

From Textbooks • Mar. 27, 2020

The standard error of the coefficient for b1 is Sb1 in the formula.

From Textbooks • Nov. 29, 2017

One of your friends tries to convince you that the standard error of the mean should be 4.5.

From Textbooks • Sep. 19, 2013

In each symbol, horizontal line = range, vertical line = mean, open rectangle = one standard deviation on each side of mean, black rectangle = twice the standard error on each side of mean.

From Geographic Variation in the North American Cyprinid Fish, Hybopsis gracilis by Cross, Frank B.