What is hierarchical clustering?

Updated May 15, 2026

Short answer

Hierarchical clustering builds a tree-like structure of nested clusters.

Deep explanation

It can be agglomerative (bottom-up) or divisive (top-down). It does not require predefined number of clusters and uses linkage criteria like single, complete, or average linkage.

Real-world example

Gene sequence similarity grouping in biology.

Common mistakes

Ignoring linkage method impact.

Follow-up questions

What is dendrogram?

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