precision
Americannoun
-
precisions
plural
-
the state or quality of being precise.
-
accuracy; exactness.
to arrive at an estimate with precision.
- Synonyms:
- rigor
-
mechanical or scientific exactness.
a lens ground with precision.
-
punctiliousness; strictness.
precision in one's business dealings.
-
Mathematics. the degree to which the correctness of a quantity is expressed.
-
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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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
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The Scientific Method
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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.
See Examples For:
By using these atomic steps as natural guiding tracks, scientists may be able to control vortex motion with remarkable precision.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 16, 2026
The first act, directed with cool precision by Ms. Kauffman, is terrific, as the tensions and frictions among the characters slowly build.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
Ukraine’s European allies provide satellite and other airborne intelligence, but it lacks the precision, scope and capabilities of that coming from the U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
And that means more precision farming, more artificial intelligence, and automation.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
Here was a superior tongue, a luminous language, the kind of English he heard on Master’s radio, rolling out with clipped precision.
From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
And yet an EUV alone is a nearly miraculous human achievement, capable of working at scales and precisions that are difficult to fathom.
From New York Times ● Jul. 12, 2023
“We can create these models that basically let us know the time of arrival to precisions that rival atomic clocks,” says Thankful Cromartie, an astrophysicist at Cornell University and a member of NANOGrav.
From Scientific American ● Jun. 28, 2023
It’s in these precisions that the historical and sociological force of her work registers.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 6, 2023
They will have to decide which qubits in the computer to use and how to deal with ranges of operational fidelities and low-level precisions that are foreign to most modern programmers.
From Nature ● Sep. 12, 2017
They catch the idea readily and practice their teachers' precisions and pruderies upon the family.
From Atlantic Classics, Second Series by Jane Addams
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
