chi-square test

noun

, Statistics.

1. a test devised by Karl Pearson that uses the quantity chi-square for testing the mathematical fit of a frequency curve to an observed frequency distribution.

chi-square test

noun

1. statistics a test derived from the chi-square distribution to compare the goodness of fit of theoretical and observed frequency distributions or to compare nominal data derived from unmatched groups of subjects

Word History and Origins

Origin of chi-square test¹

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

By repeatedly tallying whether or not a one-hour period following or not following your observation of a black cat in an area with high cat density did or did not bring you some specified level of misfortune, and by applying the statistician’s chi-square test, you can quickly convince yourself that the black-cat hypothesis has a probability of less than 1 out of 1,000 of being true.

From Salon

The significance of each difference reported was calculated by the Chi-square test and the confidence limit is given in each case.

From Project Gutenberg