A false positive can be returned on a password checking algorithm when the password is tested against a dictionary but the password does not contain a dictionary word.
A false positive is a mistaken result of a scientific test. For example, if the result of a pregnancy test is a false positive, it indicates that a woman is pregnant when she is not. a high rate of false positive results. something that is wrongly thought or shown to be a particular thing, especially after a scientific test or research
Something that is wrongly thought or shown to be a particular thing, especially after a scientific test or research. "50% of the 170 compounds were judged to be carcinogenic, but some of these might be false positives.", "Many substances give false positive reactions in allergy skin testing."