Regression - Dictionary Definition and Overview

Regression : (noun)
1: an abnormal state in which development has stopped prematurely [syn: arrested development, fixation, infantile fixation]
2: (psychiatry) a defense mechanism in which you flee from reality by assuming a more infantile state
3: the relation between selected values of x and observed values of y (from which the most probable value of y can be predicted for any value of x) [syn: simple regression, regression toward the mean, statistical regression]
4: returning to a former state [syn: regress, reversion, retrogression, retroversion]

Based on WordNet 2.0

Regression : \Re*gres"sion\ (r?*gr?sh"?n), n. [L. regressio: cf. F. r['e]gression.] The act of passing back or returning; retrogression; retrogradation. --Sir T. Browne.

Edge of regression (of a surface) (Geom.), the line along which a surface turns back upon itself; -- called also a cuspidal edge.

Regression point (Geom.), a cusp.

Based on Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

Regression :

1. A mathematical method where an empirical function is derived from a set of experimental data.

2. regression testing.

(1995-03-14)

Based on Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)