confidence interval

noun

: a group of continuous or discrete adjacent values that is used to estimate a statistical parameter (such as a mean or variance) and that tends to include the true value of the parameter a predetermined proportion of the time if the process of finding the group of values is repeated a number of times

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

On a minor note, these results also confirm a pre-agricultural origin for the dog, with a divergence of ~11-16 thousand years B.P. across the 95% confidence interval. —Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 9 June 2013

Unvaccinated people did appear to have higher odds of developing diabetes in the post-COVID window than vaccinated people, but the link was not statistically significant due to wide confidence intervals of the odds estimates. —Beth Mole, Ars Technica, 16 Feb. 2023

For infections, the model estimated a dodge of 119.85 million, with a confidence interval of 112.7 million to 127.1 million. —Beth Mole, Ars Technica, 13 Dec. 2022

For early childhood exposure, the risk is 1.30, but the sample size was higher, leading to a tighter confidence interval of 1.03-1.64. —Guest Blogger, Discover Magazine, 8 Jan. 2013

The margin of error was plus or minus 3%, with a 95% confidence interval. —Emily Dreibelbis, PCMAG, 9 Feb. 2023

In women the adjusted mortality hazard ratio for three or more glasses of milk a day compared with less than one glass a day was 1.93 (95% confidence interval 1.80 to 2.06). —Seriously Science, Discover Magazine, 30 Oct. 2014

The dark blue shading shows the 95% confidence interval. —Tom Yulsman, Discover Magazine, 30 Mar. 2021

This problem could be fixed, perhaps, by adding some kind of a confidence interval to the measure. —Neuroskeptic, Discover Magazine, 21 Aug. 2017

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Word History

First Known Use

1934, in the meaning defined above