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Glite Dictionary
narrow margin

narrow margin

6 3.6
A very small difference between two amounts or scores
  • noun
translation icon : margen estrecho
  • The basketball game ended with the home team securing victory by a narrow margin of just two points.

And they did by a very narrow margin.

Examples

  • Oung and Chen, however, won by narrow margins.

    Academic text (1992)

  • If everything else stays the same, he loses Ohio by at best a narrow margin or several percentage points.

    Blog text (5)

  • You see, Obama only won in the popular vote by a narrow margin.

    Blog text (24)

  • If Obama wins, it will be by a very narrow margin and Congress will remain divided.

    Blog text (11)

  • "Obviously we are very disappointed in losing four tough election battles by narrow margins.

    Blog text (14)

  • The party won again in 1938 and 1940, although by a narrow margin and with a smaller following, losing only in 1942.

    Academic text (1998)

  • We now project Peter Burton to be the winner by a narrow margin over Kevin McQuade.

    True Colors (1991)

  • Equality won last night's battle by a narrow margin, possibly because many decided to leave the ballot question unanswered.

    Blog text (30)

  • Previously, Democrats carried the state by narrow margins, winning it by 5,708 votes in 2000 and 11,384 votes in 2004.

    Blog text (32)

  • Voters who thought the economy was the most important problem (59 percent) opted for Romney, but by a fairly narrow margin, 51-47.

    Academic text (2013)

Synonyms

nose
vsnarrow margin
  • Informal
14 5.6

A very small distance that decides who wins a race

refers to a small numerical difference across contests rather than only race distance
squeaker
vsnarrow margin
  • Informal
4 7.8

A result decided by a very small difference

describes the small difference itself rather than the event decided by it

How Close

photo finish
  • Literature
4 4.2
narrow margin
6 3.6
large margin
7 2.7

Surface Forms

narrow margin singular
narrow margins plural

Morphology

narrow + margin

The meaning 'a very small difference between two amounts, scores, or results' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'narrow' (limited/small in extent) with 'margin' (a difference or allowance). This adjective+noun compositional pattern is common in English and other languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can readily infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Narrow margin comes from a simple picture: narrow means very small and margin means the thin edge or small space between two things. That's why it now means 'a very small difference between two amounts, scores, or results'.