margin

American  

[mahr-jin] / ˈmɑr dʒɪn /

noun

margins plural

1. the space around the printed or written matter on a page.

2. an amount allowed or available beyond what is actually necessary.

   to allow a margin for error.

3. a limit in condition, capacity, etc., beyond or below which something ceases to exist, be desirable, or be possible.

   the margin of endurance; the margin of sanity.

   Synonyms:

   bound, confine

4. a border or edge.

   Synonyms:

   brink, verge, rim

   Antonyms:

   center

5. Philately. selvage.

6. Finance.

   1. security, as a percentage in money, deposited with a broker by a client as a provision against loss on transactions.

   2. the amount representing the customer's investment or equity in such an account.

7. the difference between the amount of a loan and the market value of the collateral pledged as security for it.

8. Commerce. the difference between the cost and the selling price.

9. an amount or degree of difference.

   The measure passed by a margin of just three votes.

10. Economics. the point at which the return from economic activity barely covers the cost of production, and below which production is unprofitable.

11. Entomology. the border of an insect's wing.

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verb (used with object)

1. to provide with a margin or border.

2. to furnish with marginal notes, as a document.

3. to enter in the margin, as of a book.

4. Finance. to deposit a margin upon.

5. Stock Exchange. to purchase (securities) on margin.

   That stock was heavily margined during the last month.

margin British  

/ ˈmɑːdʒɪn, ˈmɑːdʒənt /

noun

1. an edge or rim, and the area immediately adjacent to it; border

2. the blank space surrounding the text on a page

3. a vertical line on a page, esp one on the left-hand side, delineating this space

4. an additional amount or one beyond the minimum necessary

   a margin of error

5. a payment made in addition to a basic wage, esp for special skill or responsibility

6. a bound or limit

7. the amount by which one thing differs from another

   a large margin separated the parties

8. commerce the profit on a transaction

9. economics the minimum return below which an enterprise becomes unprofitable

10. finance

    1. collateral deposited by a client with a broker as security

    2. the excess of the value of a loan's collateral over the value of the loan

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verb

1. to provide with a margin; border

2. finance to deposit a margin upon

Synonym Usage

See edge.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• margins
  plural

Etymology

Origin of margin

1300–50; Middle English < Latin margin- (stem of margō ) border; akin to march ²

Explanation

An amount beyond the minimum necessary is called the margin. If you sell craft items, you need to build in a profit margin so that you actually make money on the sale. You'll go broke if you sell mittens for $10 that cost you $15 to make. The blank space around the edges of a sheet of paper — as with the page of a book — that surrounds the text is called the margin. It serves a few purposes: (1) The paper can be bound into a book without covering up the words; (2) If you are a teacher, student, or editor, you can make comments or notes in the margin. (3) If you're bored in class, you can doodle there.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

margin margins

The company’s adjusted operating profit rose by 15% over the first six months of the year, while its operating margin grew to 18.9% from 18.1% in the previous-year period.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

The margin of that top-line beat was the widest in more than five years, based on available FactSet data back to July 2021.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026

If AI tools fail to drive the hoped-for efficiencies, corporate expenses will scale with revenue, and the projected margin benefits won’t materialize.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

The company mostly confirmed guidance as results beat across metrics, including a car margin of 4% that landed in the middle of the full-year range.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

Israel won that election by a slim margin of 38 votes out of 4,010 cast.

From "An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793" by Jim Murphy

The analysts’ projections show each company’s SG&A falling as a percentage of revenue, helping sustain or expand operating margins.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

Given the company makes almost half of its sales in North America, Philips had been hard hit by the tariffs and the refund helped it to report better than forecast second-quarter profit margins.

From Barron's ● Jul. 28, 2026

Because the margins can be major, but they don’t account for most of the Lakers’ offseason grade this summer.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

It is now associated with river corridors and lake margins in all counties of Northern Ireland.

From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026

On a top-secret copy, shared with his colleagues, William jotted comments in the margins.

From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield

Related Words

• edge
• limit
• surplus