significance-n; 3 Senses

Sense Number 1: the quality of being important, worthy of attention

Commentary: SIGNIFICANCE[+quality][+worthy][+of_attention]
NOTE: refers to the importance of something, not what it stands for.

Examples:
Health insurance has become a social issue of some significance.
The significance of the composer's works was not fully appreciated in his lifetime.
The environmentalists did not understand the significance of nuclear power.

Mappings:
WordNet 3.0 Sense Numbers: 1

Sense Number 2: the meaning or implication of something

Commentary: SIGNIFICANCE[+entity][+abstract][+information][+meaning]
NOTE: refers to what something means or signifies, what it symbolizes.

Examples:
What is the significance of the men removing their hats?
The significance of his remarks was intentionally ambiguous.
The significance of a given color is not the same across different cultures.

Mappings:
WordNet 3.0 Sense Numbers: 2, 3

Sense Number 3: degree of a result's deviation from a random distribution

Commentary: SIGNIFICANCE[+quantity][+degree][+deviation][+of_result][+from_distribution][+random]
NOTE: a statistical usage

Examples:
The significance of these tests is only at the .05 level.
We could find no statistical significance in these results.

Mappings:
WordNet 0.0 Sense Numbers: 3