a slight better

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "a slight better" is not correct and is not usable in written English.
You would need to say "slightly better" in order for it to be grammatically correct. For example, "She did slightly better on the second attempt than her first."

⚠ May contain grammatical issues

Science

News & Media

Wiki

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

4 human-written examples

In the case of dimensional variations, the coating with raw linseed oil has led to a slight better improvement compared to emulsion coating.

Industrial Crops and Products

[18F]NaF PET showed in small animals a slight better quality and resolution.

EJNMMI Radiopharmacy and Chemistry

A slight better separation is obtained when it is used R p =250 and R h =500.

EURASIP Journal on Audio, Speech, and Music Processing

Web-browsing traffic experiences almost the same packet delay at the uplink for both EDCA and the proposed mechanism with a slight better performance shown by the proposed mechanism, but at the downlink, the proposed mechanism performs better than EDCA with a good margin as shown in Figure 4c.

EURASIP Journal on Wireless Communications and Networking

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

56 human-written examples

They were older and more of them were smokers; they had poorer control of BP and lipid profiles, but had a slighter better glucose profile.

BMJ Open

For the reactive case, graft copolymers are slight better than the block ones.

Polymer

The experimental results obtained by Wang and Huang [ 12] have shown that ELM performs slight better than the BP algorithm where the improvement of the successful testing classification rate obtained by ELM is around 1%.

BioMed Research International

"A slight overstride is better than a big one, just as a slight heel landing is better than a 'toes in the air' one with the knee joint locked out".

The Guardian - Lifestyle

Shirley Classic: "A slight angle is better".

The New York Times - Tech

There may be a slight trend towards better outcome in the contacts receiving IPT, although not significant.

BMJ Open

For LDAS, there was a slight trend towards better reflection of inhibition of structural damage (TS <0) with increasing sustainability of response.

Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Always use "slightly better" instead of "a slight better" to ensure grammatical accuracy. The adverb 'slightly' correctly modifies the comparative adjective 'better'.

Common error

Avoid using adjectives in place of adverbs when modifying comparative adjectives. For example, saying "a slight better" is incorrect; the correct form is "slightly better", where 'slightly' is an adverb.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "a slight better" functions as an incorrect comparative. It attempts to express a marginal degree of improvement or superiority, but it fails due to improper grammatical structure as indicated by Ludwig AI.

Expression frequency: Rare

Frequent in

Science

33%

News & Media

33%

Wiki

33%

Less common in

Formal & Business

0%

Encyclopedias

0%

Reference

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, the phrase "a slight better" is grammatically incorrect and should be avoided in formal writing. As confirmed by Ludwig AI, the correct form is "slightly better". Although examples of the incorrect phrase appear in various sources, its usage is infrequent and undermines grammatical correctness. It's best to use alternatives like "a bit better" or "marginally better" to convey a similar meaning with accurate grammar.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

slightly better

This is the grammatically correct form of the original phrase, using an adverb to modify the adjective.

a bit better

This phrase is more informal but conveys the same meaning of a small degree of improvement.

marginally better

Using 'marginally' adds a sense of formality while indicating a small improvement.

just a little better

This alternative emphasizes the small difference in quality or condition.

a shade better

This phrase is more figurative and implies a very slight difference.

a touch better

Similar to 'a shade better', this idiom conveys a minimal degree of improvement.

fractionally better

This is a more precise way of saying slightly better, suitable for technical contexts.

imperceptibly better

Highlights that the improvement is so small it's almost not noticeable.

minimally better

Indicates the smallest degree of superiority or improvement.

a cut above

This idiom suggests being slightly superior, but can imply a more significant difference than "a slight better".

FAQs

What is the correct way to say "a slight better"?

The grammatically correct way to say "a slight better" is "slightly better". Using the adverb 'slightly' correctly modifies the adjective 'better'.

Are there alternatives to "a slight better" that I can use?

While "a slight better" isn't grammatically sound, you can use phrases like "a bit better", "marginally better", or "just a little better" to convey a similar meaning.

Why is "a slight better" considered incorrect?

The phrase "a slight better" is incorrect because 'slight' is an adjective, and you need an adverb ('slightly') to properly modify the comparative adjective 'better'. Adjectives modify nouns, while adverbs modify adjectives, verbs, or other adverbs.

In what contexts might I want to use "slightly better"?

"Slightly better" can be used in various contexts where you want to indicate a marginal improvement or superiority, such as comparing product features, assessing performance, or describing a change in condition.