lurking variable
nounUK /ˈlɜː.kɪŋ ˈveə.ri.ə.bəl/
US /ˈlɝː.kɪŋ ˈver.i.ə.bəl/
A hidden thing that changes how two other things seem to be connected.
The lurking variable of hot weather made ice cream sales and sunburns seem linked.
RELATED WORDS
OTHER MEANINGS
2. A factor left out of a study that can secretly affect the results.
Researchers missed a lurking variable, so their conclusion was wrong.
3. Something unnoticed that quietly influences an outcome.
Sleep was the lurking variable behind the class's test scores.
4. In data analysis, an unmeasured cause that creates a false pattern.
The graph's trend vanished once they accounted for the lurking variable.