margin of error
Americannoun
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Statistics. a deviation above or below a given statistic encompassing the range within which the true value is most likely to fall, equal to one-half the span of the confidence interval.
The poll of likely voters has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
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Also margin for error an amount of extra space, time, resources, etc., allowed to account for mistakes, miscalculations, or altered circumstances.
The margin of error in the restaurant business is usually razor thin.
There’s no margin for error with this new deadline, because you’re handing in final papers the day before grades are due.
Etymology
Origin of margin of error
First recorded in 1855–60
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Margin of error: ± 2.8% adjusted for weighting, ± 3.0% for registered voters.
From Washington Times • Jun. 5, 2021
Margin of error: Polling companies generally claim that 95% of the time, a poll of 1,000 people will be accurate within a margin of error of +/-3%.
From BBC • May 11, 2017
With reporting by Anthony Davis and Phil Zabriskie/Kabul, Douglas Waller/Washington and Stewart Stogel/United Nations Margin of error is +/- 3.1% for the adult poll and +/- 2.9% for the children's survey.
From Time Magazine Archive
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
