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A systematic error is a component of measurement error that remains constant or changes predictably when measurements are repeated under specified conditions. A ruler with an incorrect scale, a thermometer with a measurement zero offset, and an unaccounted instrumental drift can all produce such effects. Closely agreeing readings can therefore have poor measurement accuracy: repetition tests their scatter, not the correctness of the shared reference.

An estimated systematic error should be corrected when possible, with the correction's measurement uncertainty included in the measurement uncertainty budget. Suppose a balance reads $m+b$ and a reference gives an estimate $\hat{b}$ of its offset. The corrected result is $m_{\mathrm{read}}-\hat{b}$; uncertainty in $\hat{b}$ remains even if the same unknown offset affected every weighing. Changing the reference, using a blank, or testing systematic-error cancellation by reversal can reveal effects that a long sequence of identical readings misses. The Type A evaluation of uncertainty and Type B evaluation of uncertainty distinction concerns how uncertainty is evaluated, so neither label is synonymous with systematic error.^[ref]