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margin

noun
mar·​gin | \ ˈmär-jən How to pronounce margin (audio) \

Definition of margin

 (Entry 1 of 2)

1 : the part of a page or sheet outside the main body of printed or written matter
2 : the outside limit and adjoining surface of something : edge at the margin of the woods continental margin
3a : a spare amount or measure or degree allowed or given for contingencies or special situations left no margin for error
b(1) : a bare minimum below which or an extreme limit beyond which something becomes impossible or is no longer desirable on the margin of good taste
(2) : the limit below which economic activity cannot be continued under normal conditions
c : an area, state, or condition excluded from or existing outside the mainstream the margins of critical discourse— Barbara L. Packer living in society's margins
4a : the difference which exists between net sales and the cost of merchandise sold and from which expenses are usually met or profit derived
b : the excess market value of collateral over the face of a loan
c(1) : cash or collateral that is deposited by a client with a commodity or securities broker to protect the broker from loss on a contract
(2) : the client's equity in securities bought with the aid of credit obtained specifically (as from a broker) for that purpose
d : a range about a specified figure within which a purchase is to be made
5 : measure or degree of difference the bill passed by a one-vote margin

margin

verb
margined; margining; margins

Definition of margin (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1a : to provide with an edging or border
b : to form a margin to : border
2a : to add margin to margin up an account
b(1) : to use as margin margin bonds to buy stock
(2) : to provide margin for margin a transaction
c : to buy (securities) on margin
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Other Words from margin

Noun

margined \ ˈmär-​jənd How to pronounce margined (audio) \ adjective

Examples of margin in a Sentence

Noun

 Please write your name in the left margin of the page. a book with wide margins Mountains lie at the city's northern margins.

Verb

 the riverbed is margined by a flat beach of smooth rocks
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Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

 However a glut of new olefin capacity across the industry decreased sale prices and margins, Westlake said, and its olefins income fell by 42 percent. — Marissa Luck, Houston Chronicle, "Lower chemical prices hurt Westlake's profits," 6 Aug. 2019 Facing reduced demand, firms that cannot cut pay to maintain margins while slashing prices instead reduce output—and sack workers. — The Economist, "How shrinkflation is playing havoc with economists' models," 6 Aug. 2019 All of those groups will influence Election Day outcomes as much as Trump's white base in the key states whose narrow 2016 margins delivered his Electoral College victory. — Fortune, "Trump’s America: Where Politics Dictate the Definition of Racism," 6 Aug. 2019 All of those groups will influence Election Day outcomes as much as Trump’s white base in the key states whose narrow 2016 margins delivered his Electoral College victory. — Washington Post, "Trump’s America: Where politics dictate definition of racism," 6 Aug. 2019 But the Emerson poll shows Biden ahead of O'Rourke by a 28% to 19% margin. — Dallas News, "New poll: Biden leads O'Rourke in Texas presidential primary, race against Sen. John Cornyn wide open," 6 Aug. 2019 And the thin margin in King’s district made Democrats eager to try again. — Ella Nilsen, Vox, "Democrats are trying to oust Steve King again. Will Republicans beat them to it?," 5 Aug. 2019 But City, which also had enough chances to have won convincingly, ended up doing just enough that the margins fell its way again. — Jonathan Wilson, SI.com, "Community Shield Previews Hopeful Title Race," 4 Aug. 2019 Another group of more than 20 forensic, criminology, and data researchers hope to narrow the margins to a single culprit. — National Geographic, "A cold case team is searching for who betrayed Anne Frank," 2 Aug. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'margin.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of margin

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1715, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

History and Etymology for margin

Noun

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin margin-, margo border — more at mark

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More Definitions for margin

margin

noun

Financial Definition of margin

What It Is

The term margin has two main definitions. The first refers to the ratio of profit to revenue. The second refers to money borrowed from a brokerage firm in order to leverage an investment.

How It Works

Margin as a Financial Ratio
Let's assume Company XYZ records $1 million in net income for 2008 and $10 million in sales. By using the formula described above, we can calculate that Company XYZ has a $1,000,000/$10,000,000 = 10% net profit

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