confidence interval

[ kon-fi-duhns in-ter-vuhl ]

noun

, Statistics.

1. a range of values above and below a given statistic, with a specified probability that the true value falls within that range: the span of the interval is equal to twice the margin of error: Compare interval estimation.

   An overview of 20 studies revealed that calcium supplements reduced the risk of total fracture, showing a relative risk of 0.89 with a 95% confidence interval of 0.81 to 0.96.

confidence interval

noun

1. statistics an interval of values bounded by confidence limits within which the true value of a population parameter is stated to lie with a specified probability

Word History and Origins

Origin of confidence interval¹

First recorded in 1930–35

Example Sentences

This is done by calculating a "confidence interval," which, in the simplest case, can be found by repeating an experiment many times and seeing how the results vary.

From Science Daily

In most science studies, a confidence interval usually refers to a summary or combined statistic, not individual data points.

From Science Daily

With PPI, the team was able to correct for the bias in the confidence interval using a small number of human-labeled regions of deforestation.

From Science Daily

While letting its topline numbers for the city and county stand without qualification, LAHSA’s report provided a confidence interval for the total count in its administrative area covering all of L.A.

From Los Angeles Times

But because the lower bound of the confidence interval around this figure fell below FDA’s required 20%, it didn’t meet the agency’s efficacy standard for preventing less severe disease.

From Science Magazine