meta-analysis

noun

meta-anal·​y·​sis ˌme-tə-ə-ˈna-lə-səs How to pronounce meta-analysis (audio)
: 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
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The studies included in the new meta-analysis excluded people with depression at the time of enrollment and may not pertain to people already diagnosed with clinical depression. Ronnie Cohen, NPR, 5 Jan. 2025 For cardiovascular deaths, the National Academies panel included only four papers in a meta-analysis, including one by Harvard researchers that linked moderate drinking to a lower risk of sudden cardiac death in women. Roni Caryn Rabin, New York Times, 1 Jan. 2025 Looking at 32 trials with nearly 3,470 people, one meta-analysis found that the evidence for their use was low. Amber J. Tresca, Verywell Health, 1 Jan. 2025 However, a recent meta-analysis that analyzed nearly 400,000 medical records from healthy Americans over 20 years found that daily multivitamin use did not prevent death from cancer, heart disease and stroke. Omer Awan, Forbes, 1 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for meta-analysis 

Word History

First Known Use

1976, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of meta-analysis was in 1976

Dictionary Entries Near meta-analysis

Cite this Entry

“Meta-analysis.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/meta-analysis. Accessed 18 Jan. 2025.

Medical Definition

meta-analysis

noun
meta-anal·​y·​sis ˌmet-ə-ə-ˈnal-ə-səs How to pronounce meta-analysis (audio)
: 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 individualsScientific American Medicine Bulletin
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