difference

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   The amount you get when you subtract one number from another.

   Grammar: Often used with 'between': the difference between 10 and 4 is 6.

   Patterns

   • difference between A and B
   • difference of something

   The difference between 8 and 3 is 5.

   If you spend $30 and have $50, the difference is $20.

   What is the difference between these two prices?

2. 2nouncountable or uncountable

   The way in which two or more people or things are not the same.

   Grammar: Can be countable (a difference) or uncountable (no difference).

   Patterns

   • difference between A and B
   • difference in something
   • make a difference

   There is a big difference between the two brothers.

   The difference in price is small.

   Her help made a difference to our project.

Word forms

Common combinations

make a difference

Your donation can make a difference.

a big difference

There's a big difference between the two plans.

difference between

What's the difference between these two words?

settle a difference

They met to settle their differences.

Synonyms and how they differ

disparity

More formal; often used for unfair or surprising gaps, as in income disparity.

contrast

Focuses on things being opposite or clearly unlike, especially when compared side by side.

gap

Suggests a space or amount missing between two things, often in levels or amounts.

Opposites

Word family

differ verb

To be unlike or to disagree.

different adjective

Not the same.

differently adverb

In a way that is not the same.

Commonly confused: difference or differance?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “difference”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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