Definitions

1. noun

A variable that may influence the outcome of a study or experiment.

“In the study, age and income were used as covariates to control for their potential impact on the relationship between education and income.”

2. verb

To introduce a variable as a factor that may influence the outcome of a study or experiment.

“The researchers covaried for the effect of smoking on cardiovascular disease by adjusting for age and gender in their analysis.”