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MAE

n. uncountable
C1 Advanced US //ˈmeɪ// mae

n. Stands for Mean Absolute Error. A way to measure how accurate a set of predictions is by looking at the average size of the mistakes. It tells you how far off your guesses are from the real numbers on average.

n. Abbreviation for Mean Absolute Error. A metric used to quantify the accuracy of a predictive model by calculating the average of the absolute differences between predicted and actual values. It provides a linear score where all individual differences are weighted equally in the average.


SIMPLE

The MAE shows that our sales forecasts are usually off by five units.

CONTEXTUAL

Data scientists use MAE to evaluate regression models because it is easier to interpret than squared error metrics.

COMPLEX

While the MAE provides a clear indication of average error magnitude, it may fail to highlight significant outliers that a root-mean-square error calculation would penalize more heavily.

Usage

Often used with the definite article ('the MAE') or as a modifier in technical phrases ('MAE score').

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