Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025
Verified for the 2026 exam
Verified for the 2026 exam•Written by the Fiveable Content Team • Last updated September 2025
Definition
A negative slope refers to how steeply or gradually a line descends from left to right when plotted on a coordinate plane. It indicates that as one variable increases, the other decreases at a consistent rate.
Related terms
Positive Slope: A positive slope indicates that as one variable increases, the other also increases at a consistent rate.
Zero Slope: A line with zero slope is perfectly horizontal and has no steepness or inclination.
Rate of Change: The amount by which a variable changes for each unit change in another variable.