regression Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun an abnormal state in which development has stopped prematurely
    fixation; infantile fixation; arrested development.
  2. noun (psychiatry) a defense mechanism in which you flee from reality by assuming a more infantile state
  3. noun the relation between selected values of x and observed values of y (from which the most probable value of y can be predicted for any value of x)
    statistical regression; simple regression; regression toward the mean.
  4. noun returning to a former state
    regress; reversion; retroversion; retrogression.

WordNet

Re*gres"sion noun
Etymology
L. regressio: cf. F. régression.
Definitions
  1. The act of passing back or returning; retrogression; retrogradation. Sir T. Browne.

Webster 1913