ENGLISH
REFERENCE

A/B testing

compound.
B2 Upper Intermediate Web Development
Definition

compound. a way to compare two versions of something, like a website or an email, to see which one people like more. You show version A to one group and version B to another to find the winner.

compound. a controlled experiment comparing two variants, A and B, to determine which performs better against a specific metric. Often used in digital marketing and software development to optimize user engagement or conversion rates.


SIMPLE

We used A/B testing to choose the best button color.

CONTEXTUAL

The marketing team is running an A/B testing campaign to see which subject line gets more clicks.

COMPLEX

By implementing rigorous A/B testing on the landing page, the developers identified specific user interface changes that significantly increased the overall conversion rate.

Origin

A compound of the letters A and B, used as placeholders for two distinct variables, and the noun testing. The term is derived from the statistical method of two-sample hypothesis testing, specifically the randomized controlled trial.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Usage

Typically functions as an uncountable noun or a compound modifier before another noun.

Last updated July 22, 2026