mar‧gin W3 AC / mɑdʒən, mɑdʒɪn $ mɑr- / 名词 [可数名词]
1 the empty space at the side of a page :
Someone had scribbled a note in the margin .
Use double spacing and wide margins to leave room for comments.
2 the difference in the number of votes, points etc that exists between the winners and the losers of a competition or election
by a wide/narrow/significant etc margin
They’re a world-class team and it was no surprise that they won by such a wide margin.
by a margin of 10 points/100 votes etc
The bill was approved by a margin of 55 votes.
3 the difference between what it costs a business to buy or produce something and what they sell it for :
Margins are low and many companies are struggling.
Within 10 years they had a gross profit margin of 50%.
4 [通常单数形式] an additional amount of something such as time, money, or space that you include in order to make sure that you are successful in achieving something :
It’ll take about 30 minutes to dry but I’d allow a safety margin of, say, another 10 minutes.
5 margin of error the degree to which a calculation might or can be wrong :
The survey has a margin of error of 2.1%.
6 margin for error how many mistakes you can make and still be able to achieve something :
At this late stage in the competition there is no margin for error.
7 technical or literary the edge of something, especially an area of land or water :
the western margin of southern Africa
8 on the margin(s) a person on the margins of a situation or group has very little power, importance, or influence 同义词 on the fringes :
unemployed youths living on the margins of society
COLLOCATIONS
形容词
wide The margin should be wider.
narrow (= not wide ) The margins are very narrow, making the page look cluttered.
a generous margin (= wide ) Leave a generous margin at the side of the page.
the right-hand margin (= on the right of the page ) There were some notes written in the right-hand margin.
the left-hand margin (= on the left of the page ) All typing begins at the left-hand margin.
动词
leave a margin The teacher told us to leave a margin wide enough for him to write corrections.
set the margins (= make them a particular size ) Set the margins to have one inch on each side.
COLLOCATIONS
形容词
a large/big margin By a large margin, the book sold more copies than any other this year.
a huge margin (= a very big one ) They won the championship by a huge margin.
a small margin Visitors from other parts of Scotland exceeded foreign visitors by only a small margin.
a narrow margin (= a very small one ) The proposal passed, but only by a narrow margin.
动词
win by a large/small etc margin The party won by a huge margin.
lose by a large/small etc margin He lost by only a narrow margin.
THESAURUS
edge the part of something that is furthest from its centre or nearest the place where it ends : He got up quickly, knocking his plate off the edge of the table. | the outer edge of the village
side the part of something that is near its left or right edge : On the left side of the garden there was an old stone wall. | They parked by the side of the road.
rim the edge of something circular, especially the top of a cup or glass, or the outside edge of a pair of glasses : a white cup with a gold rim | She was looking at me over the rim of her spectacles.
margin the empty space at the side of a page that has writing on it : My teacher had marked my essay and made some comments in the margin. | Leave wide margins on both sides of the page.
hem the edge of a piece of cloth that is turned under and stitched down, especially the lower edge of a skirt, trousers etc : If you want the dress a bit shorter, I can easily turn up the hem.
kerb British English , curb American English the edge of the pavement (= raised path ) at the side of a road : A big black car was parked at the kerb.
outskirts the areas of a city that are furthest away from the centre : The new station was built on the outskirts of the city.
perimeter the outside edge around an enclosed area of land such as a military camp or a prison : Security guards patrol the perimeter night and day.