WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026mar•gin /ˈmɑrdʒɪn/USA pronunciation
n. [countable]
- the blank space around the printed matter on a page:Leave a margin of one inch on each side of your essay.
- a border;
edge:the margin of the forest; living on the margins of society.
- an amount allowed beyond what is necessary:no margin for error.
- an amount or degree of difference:to win by a margin of three votes.
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026mar•gin
(mär′jin),USA pronunciation n.
- the space around the printed or written matter on a page.
- an amount allowed or available beyond what is actually necessary:to allow a margin for error.
- 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.
- a border or edge.
- Stamps[Philately.]selvage (def. 3).
- Business[Finance.]
- security, as a percentage in money, deposited with a broker by a client as a provision against loss on transactions.
- the amount representing the customer's investment or equity in such an account.
- Businessthe difference between the amount of a loan and the market value of the collateral pledged as security for it.
- Business[Com.]the difference between the cost and the selling price.
- Businessan amount or degree of difference:The measure passed by a margin of just three votes.
- Business[Econ.]the point at which the return from economic activity barely covers the cost of production, and below which production is unprofitable.
- Insects[Entomol.]the border of an insect's wing.
v.t.
- to provide with a margin or border.
- to furnish with marginal notes, as a document.
- to enter in the margin, as of a book.
- Business[Finance.]to deposit a margin upon.
- Stock Exchange, Businessto purchase (securities) on margin:That stock was heavily margined during the last month.
- Latin margin- (stem of margō) border; akin to march2
- Middle English 1300–50
3. confine, bound. 4. rim, verge, brink. See edge.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
margin /ˈmɑːdʒɪn/, (archaic) margent /ˈmɑːdʒənt/ n - an edge or rim, and the area immediately adjacent to it; border
- the blank space surrounding the text on a page
- a vertical line on a page, esp one on the left-hand side, delineating this space
- an additional amount or one beyond the minimum necessary: a margin of error
- chiefly Austral a payment made in addition to a basic wage, esp for special skill or responsibility
- a bound or limit
- the amount by which one thing differs from another
- the profit on a transaction
- the minimum return below which an enterprise becomes unprofitable
- collateral deposited by a client with a broker as security
vb (transitive)- to provide with a margin; border
- to deposit a margin upon
Etymology: 14th Century: from Latin margō border; related to march2, mark1
'margin' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
