Also called control. Statistics. a person, group, event, etc., that is used as a constant and unchanging standard of comparison in scientific experimentation.
(in computer programming) a variable that is used to regulate the flow of control, or order of execution, generally the number of times a loop will execute.
Examples from the web for control variable
The grid must remain stable and there are limits on how much you can control variable generation.
Each line in the control specifies the value for a control variable.
The magnitude and significance of the correlation remained the same when life change events was introduced as a control variable.
Contemporary definitions for control variable
noun
any factor that remains unchanged and strongly influences values; also, a factor held constant to test the relative impact of an independent variable