AI engineering glossary · Data structures algorithms
What is edit distance?
Edit distance (also called Levenshtein distance): The minimum number of single-character insertions, deletions and substitutions needed to turn one string into another. It is computed by dynamic programming and used in spell checking and fuzzy matching.
Edit distance: an example
Turning 'kitten' into 'sitting' takes 3 edits: replace k with s, replace e with i, and add g.
Related terms
More Data structures algorithms terms
Where you learn it
Edit distance is part of the AI Engineering Program, which teaches it with notes, a hands-on lab and an exam. The first lesson is free.