Meaning & use
comparator group
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountabletechnical
In a study, the group of people or things used as a standard for judging another group.
Grammar: Countable; use 'a comparator group' or 'the comparator groups'.
Patterns
- compare something with a comparator group
- the comparator group in a study
The treatment was tested against a comparator group receiving the standard drug.
Researchers matched each patient with someone in the comparator group of similar age and health.
Word forms
| plural | comparator groups |
|---|
Common combinations
- a comparator group
- They used a comparator group to check whether the new method worked better.
- the comparator group received
- The comparator group received a placebo instead of the active treatment.
- compare with a comparator group
- They compared the results with a comparator group from an earlier trial.
- matched comparator group
- A matched comparator group made the results easier to interpret.
Synonyms and how they differ
- control group
- The usual term in experiments; 'comparator group' is broader and used when the comparison is not a strict no-treatment control.
- reference group
- Similar but often used in social science for a group people compare themselves to, not for study design.
Word family
- comparator noun
- A device or standard used for comparing things.
- compare verb
- To examine things to see how they are similar or different.
- comparison noun
- The act of comparing or a statement that compares.
Commonly confused: comparator group or control group?
comparator group vs control group
A control group usually gets no treatment or a placebo; a comparator group may get an existing treatment, so the two are not always the same.
Practice
In a clinical trial, what is a comparator group?
Choose one answer.
A comparator group serves as the standard of comparison; it may or may not receive no treatment, so option 0 is too narrow.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “comparator group”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.