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regression

noun

Simple meaning

An analytic method to measure the association of one or more independent variables with a dependent variable.

Pronunciation

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ruhgrehshuhn

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IPA pronunciation (US)

ɹəɡˈɹɛʃən

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. An action of regressing, a return to a previous state.

  2. statistics

    An analytic method to measure the association of one or more independent variables with a dependent variable.

  3. statistics

    An equation using specified and associated data for two or more variables such that one variable can be estimated from the remaining variable(s).

  4. An action of travelling mentally back in time.

  5. programming

    The reappearance of a bug in a piece of software that had previously been fixed.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
General and technical use

More ways to use regression

  • “The patient experienced a slight regression in their recovery progress.”

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Analytic

regression coefficient

Equation

linear regressionregression equation

Other combinations

regression analysismultiple regressionregression linelogistic regressionsimple regression

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Similar Words, What’s the Difference?

Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.

  • fixation

    An abnormal state in which development has stopped prematurely.

  • reversion

    The action of returning to a former condition or practice.

  • arrested development

    A state where development has stopped prematurely.

Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • regression analysisnounCompound term

    The use of regression to make quantitative predictions of one variable from the values of another.

  • regression coefficientnounCompound term

    When the regression line is linear (y = ax + b) the regression coefficient is the constant (a) that represents the rate of change of one variable (y) as a function of changes in the other…

  • regression curvenounCompound term

    A smooth curve fitted to the set of paired data in regression analysis.

  • regression equationnounCompound term

    The equation representing the relation between selected values of one variable (x) and observed values of the other (y).

  • regression linenounCompound term

    A smooth curve fitted to the set of paired data in regression analysis.

  • regression of y on xnounCompound term

    The equation representing the relation between selected values of one variable (x) and observed values of the other (y).

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: regressing

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.