margin of error

[ mahr-jinuhv er-er ]

/ ˈmɑr dʒɪn əv ˈɛr ər /

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noun

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.

Also mar·gin for er·ror . 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.

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Which sentence is correct?

His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

His boss, who he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of margin of error

First recorded in 1855–60

Words nearby margin of error

marginal tax rate, marginal utility, marginate, margin call, margin line, margin of error, margin of safety, margin plank, margosa, Margot, margravate

How to use margin of error in a sentence

The citizens of Stevens Point defeated fluoridation by a healthy margin.
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers|Michael Schulson|July 27, 2016|DAILY BEAST
Everyone out there who says, “Charlie Hebdo provoked,” is making the same fundamental error.
Ayaan Hirsi Ali: Our Duty Is to Keep Charlie Hebdo Alive|Ayaan Hirsi Ali|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
There were also crashes not due to either mechanical or human error but to a lack of warning of dangerous conditions.
Flight 8501 Poses Question: Are Modern Jets Too Automated to Fly?|Clive Irving|January 4, 2015|DAILY BEAST
But as everyone knows, he went on to say—not once but many times—that that was the greatest error of his career by far.
Steve Scalise and the Right’s Ridiculous Racial Blame Game|Michael Tomasky|January 2, 2015|DAILY BEAST

The Dallas Cowboys sell out their state-of-the art football stadium.
Will Texas Stay Texan?|David Fontana|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It is a very common error to consider these deposits as evidence of excessive excretion.
A Manual of Clinical Diagnosis|James Campbell Todd
My mother now tells me that she knew of this mistake, an error of the New York paper in copying the item from a Southern journal.
The Boarded-Up House|Augusta Huiell Seaman
It was a fatal error, for though the Spanish people might despise their King, they were intensely proud of their nationality.
Napoleon's Marshals|R. P. Dunn-Pattison
You never know when you are going to stumble upon a jewel in the most out-of-the-way corner.
Music-Study in Germany|Amy Fay
It was an error not to separate borrowing entirely from monetary issues.
Readings in Money and Banking|Chester Arthur Phillips