The least-squares regression method computes the regression line that minimizes the sum of the squared deviations from the plotted points to the line.

Least-squares Regression

A statistical method used to determine the best-fitting line through a set of points by minimizing the sum of the squares of the offsets.

Squared Deviations

The squared differences between each data point in a set and the mean of that set, used in statistical analysis to measure variance.