Dictionary entry
decision tree
also classification tree or regression tree or classification and regression tree or CART
Definition of decision tree
-
: a supervised machine-learning model that makes a classification or numerical prediction by sending an input through a hierarchy of feature-based tests until it reaches a leaf containing the result
- The bank trained a decision tree that split applications by income, debt ratio, and repayment history.
- Pruning the deepest branches made the classification tree less accurate on the training set but more reliable on new data.
Two meanings, one word
In everyday English
A branching diagram that maps choices, possible events, and their outcomes.
In AI
A supervised machine-learning model that makes a classification or numerical prediction by sending an input through a hierarchy of feature-based tests until it reaches a…
Origin & history
Tree-structured decision procedures predate modern machine learning. Classification and Regression Trees, published by Leo Breiman and colleagues in 1984, and Ross Quinlan's ID3 algorithm, published in 1986, established influential approaches for learning predictive trees from data.
Test yourself
Which of these is the meaning of decision tree?
Cite this entry
"Decision tree." AI Dictionary, Dadgogo, https://dadgogo.com/dictionary/decision-tree/. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.