precision
Americannoun
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the state or quality of being precise.
-
accuracy; exactness.
to arrive at an estimate with precision.
- Synonyms:
- rigor
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mechanical or scientific exactness.
a lens ground with precision.
-
punctiliousness; strictness.
precision in one's business dealings.
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Mathematics. the degree to which the correctness of a quantity is expressed.
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Chemistry, Physics. the extent to which a given set of measurements of the same sample agree with their mean.
adjective
noun
-
the quality of being precise; accuracy
-
(modifier) characterized by or having a high degree of exactness
precision grinding
a precision instrument
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of precision
First recorded in 1630–40; from Latin praecīsiōn-, stem of praecīsiō “cutoff”; equivalent to precise + -ion
Explanation
Use the noun precision to describe something that's exact, such as the work of a carpenter who's made 100 identical pieces of railing for a grand staircase. Precision is similar to perfection in that both words suggest that something could not possibly be better. However, perfection describes something that's flawless, such as a beautiful sunset. Precision, on the other hand, is more about accuracy, like computing the exact second that the perfect sunset will occur.
Vocabulary lists containing precision
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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List 5
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The Scientific Method
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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.
