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

Another meta-analysis showed that people who used topical minoxidil for several months grew significantly more new hairs than people who didn’t. —Rebecca Strong, USA Today, 3 Apr. 2026

Trust is not rebuilt with meta-analyses. —Vikas Patel, STAT, 3 Apr. 2026

According to a 2017 meta-analysis, sleeping substantially more or less than the seven-hour optimum was shown to put people at greater risk of death. —Sharon Basaraba, Verywell Health, 3 Apr. 2026

Study Looked at Data From Nearly 37,000 Pregnancies To get more insight into how GLP-1s may affect pregnancy outcomes, researchers performed a meta-analysis. —Tom Gavin, EverydayHealth.com, 2 Apr. 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