Meaning of margin in English:

1The edge or border of something.

1. 1.1The blank border on each side of the print on a page.
   ‘the notations in the margin’
   More example sentences

   • ‘This is fairly easy to accomplish by defining a bounding rectangle for the text that is the same width as the space between the page margins.’
   • ‘The holes are far greater than the space in this book given over to noticeably wide margins and blank space.’
   • ‘Folding down the corners of pages, scribbling in margins and breaking the spines of paperbacks are signs of a barbarian.’
   • ‘A large space was left in the margin of the page for recording place of sleep, position of sleep and behaviour of the infant when awake.’
   • ‘The increased readability that results from these design changes is further enhanced by a bigger page size and wider margins.’
   • ‘We dealt with that complaint by changing the page margins to get the total length down to where they wanted it without removing any text.’
   • ‘From then on the publisher is also mentioned - usually in the form of a seal on the print margin.’
   • ‘A further dimension is added to the poem by a Scriptural place given in the page margin.’
   • ‘The most readable proposals have text running 4 inches or less across the page with graphics in the side margins or within the text.’
   • ‘You might find quite a few prints with the left margin trimmed, thus making an identification by date impossible.’
   • ‘All I wanted was a two column template, centered, with wide margins on each side.’
   • ‘Any reference to work in the body of the text is usefully indexed with a page number in the margin directing the reader to further pictures.’
   • ‘The printer's advantage is that it can print without margins - making the pictures print out exactly like photos.’
   • ‘Answer using no more than six letters, a hand gesture, and the doodling space in the margins.’
   • ‘Some have holes punched in the margin so they can be kept in three-ring binders.’
   • ‘In the documents of the last volume, drawn from the imperial court, you can read the Emperor's notations down the margins.’
   • ‘At the end, in the margin, small red notations caught Mallory's eye.’
   • ‘The best scholarship applications adhere to specifications for margins, spacing, font size, and length.’
   • ‘There are wide margins, only 29 lines to the page, and the print is, at a guess, 12 point.’
   • ‘Ever since then, I was always doodling in the margins of my papers or in spare notebooks.’
   Synonyms

   leeway, latitude, scope, room, room for manoeuvre, room to spare, space, allowance, extra, surplus

   View synonyms
2. 1.2A line ruled on paper to mark off a margin.
   More example sentences

   • ‘The children began in right earnest by first drawing a neat margin on the chart paper they were provided with.’
   • ‘How many still do, and still print the little black margins around their images to inform the viewer of their exacting practice?’
   • ‘You'd have to think about whether it's written in green ink, how steady or efficient or loopy or shaky or spidery is the handwriting, and whether it's written up to the margins and in tiny writing.’
   • ‘The children began in earnest by first drawing a neat margin on the chart paper they were provided with.’
   • ‘Students first draw a 2-inch margin around the edge of the paper, and then position the projected image on the paper.’
   • ‘At once I feel like I'm back at high school and I've been caught drawing margins without a ruler.’

2An amount by which something is won.

1. 2.1An amount of something included so as to be sure of success or safety.
   ‘there was no margin for error’
   More example sentences

   • ‘In fact, one of the roots of my concern is that nobody will know for sure when the safety margin has been eroded too far.’
   • ‘Protein recommendations for athletes are commonly expressed in a range to include a safety margin.’
   • ‘Be sure your available runway length provides an adequate margin for safety.’
   • ‘And when borrowing ensure that a hefty margin of safety is built in to the amount that you can repay.’
   • ‘The Pesticide Residues Committee says that most of the contamination should not damage health because of the large safety margins.’
   • ‘Most of the residues were below the maximum levels set by the government, which had large safety margins, they pointed out.’
   • ‘At one point on Wednesday, my margin of safety was down to four miles and I was forced to spend the whole day at the oars to avoid making an impromptu landfall.’
   • ‘The risk caused by speeding on one occasion may be small, but the margin of safety is being reduced.’
   • ‘Yet the margin for error in this scenario is not infinite.’
   • ‘I've read them, I know what they say, I know how they derived the projections, and I know the margin for error.’
   • ‘The high number of gear changes and the tiny margin for error inevitably leads to a very high attrition rate among the cars, and it is highly likely that less than half of the starters will finish.’
   • ‘Without them the margin for error has been reduced.’
   • ‘I think that a country that is that small does not have a big margin for error.’
   • ‘With the number of states within the margin for error, that three percent could matter.’
   • ‘At the top end of the Premier Division, the margin for error is tiny.’
   • ‘The trouble is, of course, this doesn't happen by accident at all, and the margin for error is huge.’
   • ‘Because oxygen increases the margin of safety, climbing without it might increase the death rate.’
   • ‘So margins of safety naturally get built into task time estimates.’
   • ‘But with the throttle screwed on, there is only the barest margin, and no room at all for mistakes.’
   • ‘Workers are on a roll now and have been dominant over all sides despite the narrow margins involved at times.’
   Synonyms

   leeway, latitude, scope, room, room for manoeuvre, room to spare, space, allowance, extra, surplus

   View synonyms
2. 2.2The furthest limit of possibility, success, etc.
   ‘the lighting is brighter than before but is still at the margins of acceptability’
   More example sentences

   • ‘Even without the threat of war, an operation of this size presses at the margins of possibility.’
   • ‘Yet the fact that he's about to shoot a new feature in colour with Bill Murray and other prominent stars also suggests he's willing to push the limits of those margins.’
   • ‘It can explore the margins and limits of the text and of classical theatre, and in the process demystify, even kill the text and the author and his authority.’
   • ‘It is also just about possible, but only at the margins of plausibility, that the apostrophe inserted into Finnegans Wake is a deliberate mistake.’
   • ‘Desire and jealousy flourish at the margin of what is knowable, just beyond the limits of what Pandosto can see.’
3. 2.3A profit margin.
   ‘launching these new products helped increase margins and market share’
   More example sentences

   • ‘At the same time, the IRA said, the firms are passing on their increased costs to consumers and increasing their own margins and profits.’
   • ‘What's more, many banks sneakily use base-rate changes to increase their margins and profits.’
   • ‘There could be some pleasant news with respect to operating profits as revenues continue to grow and margins increase.’
   • ‘Borrowers and savers are losing out as banks and building societies boost their margins.’
   • ‘If he can get the product right, the M&S boss should be able to edge margins up.’
   • ‘Generally thin starting margins suggest little room for manoeuvre on profits when the unexpected happens.’
   • ‘Chinese demand is growing at an unprecedented rate, and refineries are near capacity with healthy margins.’
   • ‘Caught in the middle of this war is the food processor, facing increasing pressure to deliver quality goods on paper thin margins.’
   • ‘It has the highest margins and the best returns in its sector.’
   • ‘He said price cuts of this magnitude have already wiped out any possibility of a margin on grazing cattle this summer.’
   • ‘It works, and it greatly increases your chance for success, but it limits your margins.’
   • ‘It means good margins and possibly a reputation for beer selection that will draw customers from a larger area.’
   • ‘The problem is that the amount of handholding an average end-user needs in buying a computer exceeds the margin you could possibly make on selling it.’
   • ‘The producer's expectation is to realize at least a maximized lower-level confidence limit of gross margin.’
   • ‘So the cost of production & selling must be as low as possible because of the slim margin.’
   • ‘The company also said it would diversify its copper product range to boost product margin.’
   • ‘We've been working our little cotton socks off to source our chart albums within the EU at the lowest possible price and cutting our margins even more.’
   • ‘It also expects its loss to shrink - we'd hope so, given those margins - to $2 million and possibly even to zero.’
   • ‘I accept the margins in farming are tight and profits are well down but trying to balance the books at the expense of asylum seekers is not acceptable.’
   • ‘Here, distribution may be limited to a small number of intermediaries who gain better margins and exclusivity.’
4. 2.4Finance A sum deposited with a broker to cover the risk of loss on a transaction or account.
   More example sentences

   • ‘Buying options outright typically does not require any deposit of margin because the maximum risk is what you pay for the option.’
   • ‘It can fairly be said that those calls reveal that before the first margin call was made the plaintiff did not understand the risks of a margin account.’
   • ‘Finally, in unusual circumstances such as extreme market volatility, SIMEX may require a broker to deposit additional margin.’
   • ‘Let's say you have a margin account, and your position takes a dive before rebounding to all-time highs.’
   • ‘Most brokers ask for double the margin amount you deposit.’
5. 2.5Australian, New Zealand An increment to a basic wage, paid for extra skill or responsibility.
   ‘Skill margins were a key issue, and the dispute was the first successful post war campaign.’
   ‘Stronger unions responded by demanding higher margins for skill and above-award payments, which strained the court's authority.’

1Provide with an edge or border.

1. 1.1archaic Annotate or summarize (a text) in the margins.
   ‘these he deals forth as the notable Matters, margined for better Notice’
   Synonyms

   comment on, add footnotes to, add notes to, gloss

   View synonyms

2Deposit an amount of money with a broker as security for (an account or transaction)