line of best fit

English

Noun

line of best fit (plural lines of best fit)

1. (mathematics) A line on a scatter plot that best defines or expresses the trend shown in the plotted points. It is chosen so that the sum of the squares of the distances from the points to the line is a minimum. It also illustrates the correlation (positive, negative, or zero correlation) between the plotted variables.

See also

• trend line
• regression line