DictionaryAI

significant

sig-NIF-uh-kuhnt/sɪɡˈnɪf.ə.kənt/UKsig-NIF-i-kuhnt/sɪɡˈnɪf.ɪ.kənt/

5 meanings of significant

Practice

  1. 1
    bigadjective
    Large or important enough to be noticed or to make a real difference.

    The reforms had a significant impact on the country's economy.

    The new bridge has made a significant difference to how long it takes commuters to get into the city.

    UsageOften before difference, impact, increase or number: a significant impact on the economy, a significant difference to her health.

    Oppositeinsignificant

  2. 2
    statisticsadjective
    Unlikely to have occurred by chance alone, as judged by a statistical test, and so taken as evidence of a real relationship or effect.

    The correlation between the two variables turned out to be statistically significant.

    Once the researchers controlled for age, the drug's effect on blood pressure was no longer significant.

    UsageOften statistically significant. It means the result is probably not chance, not that the effect is large or important.

    Note

    Statistics gives the word a narrow, testable meaning. A result is significant when its p-value, the chance of a result at least this extreme if there were no real effect, falls below a chosen threshold, often 0.05. The label says chance alone would rarely produce such a result, not that the effect is large or important.

  3. 3
    hintingadjective
    Having or expressing a special meaning, especially one that is suggested rather than stated.

    Her significant glance told everyone the deal was off.

    There was a significant pause before he answered, and everyone in the room understood what it meant.

    UsageMostly with look, glance, pause or silence: a significant look, a significant pause.

    Note

    The sense closest to the word's Latin parts: signum, "sign," joined to a form of facere, "make." Something significant makes a sign. It points to a meaning rather than acting on the world. Walter Raleigh's Historie of the World (1614) recalls Plotinus's view that the stars were "significant, but not efficient": they foretell, but they do not cause. Percy Fitzgerald shows the construction with of, as in a tint "so significant of ugly weather."

    Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 5 facts

    • The word's Latin formation combines signum, meaning 'sign', with a form of facere, meaning 'make'. en.wiktionary.org
    • Walter Raleigh wrote The Historie of the World, first published in 1614. en.wikipedia.org
    • Raleigh reports Plotinus's view using the words 'significant, but not efficient'. walden.org
    • The quoted weather description contains the exact words 'so significant of ugly weather'. fadedpage.com
    • The passage is narrated by the unnamed supercargo in 'The Supercargo's Story', a contribution by Percy Fitzgerald to The Wreck of the Golden Mary. djo.org.uk

Less common meanings

  1. 4
    precise digitsadjective
    Of a digit, carrying information about the precision of a measurement or numerical value.

    Measurements should be recorded to the correct number of significant digits.

    Leading zeros that only place the decimal point are never counted as significant.

    UsageUsually in significant figures or significant digits: round to three significant figures.

    Note

    A measurement's precision is recorded in these digits. They run from the leftmost nonzero digit through the last one known or estimated, so 0.00340 has three: 3, 4 and the final 0. The leading zeros only place the decimal point and are never counted. The usual phrase is significant figure, or significant digit, and the count of such figures tells a reader how exactly a value was measured.

    Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 5 facts

    • Significant digits convey the precision of a measurement. files.nc.gov
    • Significant figures extend from the first nonzero digit through the final known or estimated digit. courses.cit.cornell.edu
    • 0.00340 has three significant figures: 3, 4 and the trailing zero. open.edu
    • Leading zeros locate the decimal point and are excluded from the significant-figure count. chem-textbook.ucalgary.ca
    • The terms significant figure and significant digit name these digits. chem-textbook.ucalgary.ca
  2. 5
    nounarchaic
    Something that carries significance; a sign, token, or symbol that stands for something beyond itself.
    And in my glass significants there are
    a. 1850, William Wordsworth, The Egyptian Maid

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of significant apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origin

From Latin significans, the present participle of significare ("to signify"), which comes from signum ("sign") combined with ficare, a variant of facere ("do, make").

Checked 5 Nov 2026 · 3 facts