the condition occurring when successive items in a series are correlated so that their covariance is not zero and they are not independent
Also called: serial correlation
autocorrelation in American English
(ˌɔtouˌkɔrəˈleiʃən, -ˌkɑr-)
noun
Statistics
the correlation of an ordered series of observations with the same series displaced by the same number of terms
Word origin
[1945–50; auto-1 + correlation]This word is first recorded in the period 1945–50. Other words that entered Englishat around the same time include: beeper, on-line, regression analysis, spin-off, synchronized swimmingauto- is a combining form meaning “self,” “same,” “spontaneous,” used in the formationof compound words. Other words that use the affix auto- include: autochrome, autochthon, autoinfection, autonomous, autostability
Examples of 'autocorrelation' in a sentence
autocorrelation
The smaller the autocorrelation, the more unpredictable the taker.