cor·re·la·tion (kôr??-l??sh?n, k?r?-)n.1. A relationship or connection between two things based on co-occurrence or pattern of change: a correlation between drug abuse and crime.2. Statistics The tendency for two values or variables to change together, in either the same or opposite way: As cigarette smoking increases, so does the incidence of lung cancer, indicating a positive correlation.3. An act of correlating or the condition of being correlated.[Medieval Latin correl?ti?, correl?ti?n- : Latin com-, com- + Latin rel?ti?, relation, report (from rel?tus, past participle of referre, to carry back; see relate).]cor?re·la?tion·al adj.American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.correlation (?k?r??le???n) n1. a mutual or reciprocal relationship between two or more things2. the act or process of correlating or the state of being correlated3. (Statistics) statistics the extent of correspondence between the ordering of two variables. Correlation is positive or direct when two variables move in the same direction and negative or inverse when they move in opposite directions[C16: from Medieval Latin correl?ti?, from com- together + rel?ti?, relation] ?corre?lational adjCollins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014cor?re?la?tion (?k?r ??le? ??n, ?k?r-) n. 1. mutual relation of two or more things, parts, etc. 2. the act of correlating or the state of being correlated. 3. (in statistics) the degree to which two or more attributes or measurements on the same group of elements show a tendency to vary together. [1555?65;