meta-analysis

noun

meta-anal·​y·​sis ˌme-tə-ə-ˈna-lə-səs 

: a quantitative statistical analysis of several separate but similar experiments or studies in order to test the pooled data for statistical significance

Examples of meta-analysis in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In a 2015 meta-analysis published in Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, researchers examined studies on a specific type of cognitive training known as the n-back task. —Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 27 May 2026

And a meta-analysis of more than 1,200 field experiment sites provided direct evidence of how practices such as irrigation, fertilizer use and management of crop residue affect emissions. —Hanqin Tian, Fortune, 25 May 2026

And a meta-analysis of more than 1,200 field experiment sites provided direct evidence of how practices such as irrigation, fertilizer use and management of crop residue affect emissions. —Hanqin Tian, The Conversation, 22 May 2026

Far from being an urban myth, the idea was already well supported by 1995, when a meta-analysis of over 100 studies found that pretty privilege is real (and, interestingly, even bigger for men than women). —Ben Ambridge, JSTOR Daily, 15 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1976, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for meta-analysis

• haemodialysis
• hemodialysis
• microanalysis
• psychoanalysis
• analysis
• dialysis
• paralysis
• cryptanalysis
• urinalysis
• electrodialysis

Medical Definition

meta-analysis

noun

meta-anal·​y·​sis ˌmet-ə-ə-ˈnal-ə-səs 

: quantitative statistical analysis that is applied to separate but similar experiments of different and usually independent researchers and that involves pooling the data and using the pooled data to test the effectiveness of the results

the report … on low cholesterol presented a comprehensive meta-analysis of 32 randomized studies involving 42,000 individuals

—Scientific American Medicine Bulletin