small margin

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   A very small difference between two amounts, especially in scores or results.

   Grammar: Countable; usually singular in 'by a small margin'.

   Patterns

   • by a small margin
   • win by a small margin
   • a small margin of victory

   The team won by a small margin of two points.

   She passed the exam by a small margin.

   The vote was decided by a small margin.

2. 2nouncountablebusiness

   A low amount of profit or difference between cost and selling price.

   Grammar: Countable; often used in business contexts with 'operate on' or 'a small margin of profit'.

   Patterns

   • operate on a small margin
   • a small margin of profit
   • a small profit margin

   The company operates on a small margin.

   A small margin of profit makes it hard to expand.

   Retailers often work with small margins.

Word forms

Common combinations

by a small margin

He lost the race by a small margin.

win by a small margin

The candidate won by a small margin.

operate on a small margin

Small shops often operate on a small margin.

a small margin of error

The experiment allowed only a small margin of error.

Synonyms and how they differ

narrow margin

Very similar, but 'narrow' emphasizes the closeness more than 'small'.

slight difference

Focuses on the difference itself, not the space or amount allowed.

Opposites

Word family

margin noun

The base word; an amount by which one thing differs from another, or a profit percentage.

marginal adjective

Very small in importance or amount; close to a limit.

Commonly confused: small margin or margarine?

Practice

Make it your own

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

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