error margins
Built-in uncertainty buffers
Error margins are the range of uncertainty around a measured or estimated value, expressing how much the true figure might differ from what's reported.
Poll results often include error margins: The candidate leads by 3 points, plus or minus 2.
In science and engineering, error margins account for measurement limitations and variability.
A narrow error margin suggests precision; a wide one signals uncertainty.
- toleranceWillingness to accept difference
- uncertaintyState of being unsure
- deviationDeparture from expected path
- precisionAccuracy of measurement
- accuracyDegree of correctness
within tolerance · buffer · leeway · wiggle room · confidence interval · statistical · sampling · measurement · fudge factor · approximation · variance · spread · range · calibration · plus or minus · give or take · threshold · allowance
error marginspinpoint accuracy
exactitude · certainty · certitude · definiteness · known quantities
error, errors, erring, erred, err, errs, errant, erratic, erratically