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

Numerous studies and meta-analyses have found that MMR vaccines do not cause autism. — Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 13 Aug. 2026

Another 2024 meta-analysis in JAMA Psychiatry found that the 4 percent of people who did have serious problems also had preexisting neuropsychiatric disorders. — Dawn Fallik, Scientific American, 11 Aug. 2026

Helps Prevent Cancer A meta-analysis on citrus fruit and lung cancer risk found that people with the highest citrus fruit intake had a 9% lower risk of developing lung cancer than those with the lowest intake. — Kathi Valeii, Verywell Health, 6 Aug. 2026

Holt-Lunstad led a meta-analysis of 148 studies tracking millions of people over years and often decades, finding that chronic loneliness and isolation carry a mortality risk comparable to smoking 15 cigarettes a day. — Catherina Gioino, Fortune, 2 Aug. 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