differential

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   A difference between two comparable things, especially a gap in pay, price, speed or level that can be measured.

   Grammar: Usually followed by between or in: a pay differential between two jobs.

   Patterns

   • a differential between A and B
   • a differential in something

   The pay differential between the two offices surprised the new manager.

   Economists studied the price differential for gasoline across the country.

   A small speed differential made the overtaking maneuver risky.

2. 2nouncountablemathematicstechnical

   In calculus, a very small change in a variable, used when working out rates of change.

   Grammar: Technical sense: the differential of a function is written with d, as in dx.

   Patterns

   • the differential of something

   The textbook explained how the differential dx stands for a tiny change in x.

   She wrote the total differential of the function on the whiteboard.

3. 3nouncountabletechnical

   A set of gears in a vehicle that lets the driven wheels turn at different speeds when the vehicle goes around a bend.

   Grammar: Often called the diff in informal British speech.

   Patterns

   • the differential of a car

   The mechanic said a worn differential was causing the whining noise.

   Without a differential, the inner wheel would skid in every turn.

Word forms

Common combinations

a wage differential

A wage differential of ten percent separated the two roles.

a price differential

The price differential between brands was small.

a significant differential

There is a significant differential in life expectancy between the regions.

narrow the differential

The company hopes to narrow the differential over the next three years.

a rear differential

The truck's rear differential needed new oil.

a differential equation

Engineers modeled the cooling process with a differential equation.

Synonyms and how they differ

difference

Difference is the plain everyday word, while differential sounds more technical and usually implies a measurable gap.

gap

Gap suggests a space that might be closed, and is more casual than differential.

disparity

Disparity carries a tone of unfairness or imbalance, which differential does not.

margin

Margin often means the amount by which one thing beats another, as in a win or a profit, rather than a general gap.

Opposites

Word family

differ verb

to be unlike something else

difference noun

the way in which things are not alike

differentiate verb

to see or show what makes things unlike

differentially adverb

in a way that treats things unequally

differentiation noun

the act of telling apart, or the calculus process of finding a derivative

Commonly confused: differential or differentiate?

Practice

Make it your own

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

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