by a low margin

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "by a low margin" is correct and usable in written English.
It can be used to describe a situation where the difference between two competing values or outcomes is small. Example: "The candidate won the election by a low margin, indicating a closely contested race."

✓ Grammatically correct

News & Media

Science

Encyclopedias

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

1 human-written examples

"The opposition can argue this is illegitimate if it is approved by a low margin".

The New York Times

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

56 human-written examples

Some likened keeping these interests in balance as a fine line or something that one had to be constantly mindful of 2-2200), while others admitted feeling uncomfortable about engaging in the practice (e.g., 2-149 "I try to satisfy my guilt for carrying this type of stuff by having a low margin").

Chiropractic and Manual Therapies

Even though Iomega won the battle of removable storage it bought out the assets of its main rival, the bankrupt SyQuest, in late 1998 and its Zip drive is a de facto standard for PCs, Porter says the company made a critical error by selling the drives at a low margin, thinking profits would come from the sale of the disks.

Forbes

No, if Intel wants to grow they'll have to give up their margins one way or the other — either by letting a low-margin x86 part cannibalize their higher-end products, or by getting back into the ARM business.

TechCrunch

While the KMT won the by-election to replace Lee in one of its Taipei strongholds, it did so by an unexpectedly low margin.

Encyclopedia Britannica

As 4-by-6 prints have increasingly become a low-margin commodity, the company has focused on selling more lucrative products, like customized calendars, greeting cards, photo books, mugs and mouse pads.

The New York Times - Tech

To improve their earnings power, Thomas expects the European banks to reduce balance sheets by collateralizing their loan obligations – bundling them and selling them in the form of securities to investors – and by reducing fresh corporate lending, a low-margin business.

Forbes

Oil was relatively easy to come by, and operating a rig was a low-margin business.Firms which grew up then, such as Halliburton and Schlumberger, can now offer NOCs a wide range of support services.

The Economist

While food is a low-margin business, Amazon could outperform similar online grocery services by delivering orders for higher-margin items like electronics at the same time.

Huffington Post

It's a low-margin business".

Forbes

All saturated growth models fit the data well, the logistic growth yielding the lowest (by a small margin) root mean square (RMS) error.

Plosone

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Use "by a low margin" when you want to highlight that the difference between two results or values is small and potentially unstable.

Common error

Avoid using "by a low margin" when the difference, though numerically small, has significant consequences. For example, a critical budget vote passed "by a low margin" still has major repercussions regardless of the vote tally.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "by a low margin" functions as an adverbial phrase, modifying a verb or verb phrase to indicate the degree or extent to which something is achieved or differs. Ludwig confirms its proper usage in context.

Expression frequency: Common

Frequent in

News & Media

35%

Science

33%

Encyclopedias

12%

Less common in

Formal & Business

10%

Reference

0%

Social Media

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

In summary, the phrase "by a low margin" correctly describes a situation where a result is achieved with a small difference, indicating a close contest or near equality. Ludwig confirms its usability in written English. It's commonly found in News & Media and Science contexts, maintaining a neutral register. While useful for emphasizing minimal differences, avoid using it when the impact of even a small difference is significant. Alternatives such as "by a narrow margin" or "by a slim margin" offer similar meaning while varying the wording.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

by a narrow margin

Replaces "low" with "narrow", emphasizing the smallness of the difference.

by a slim margin

Replaces "low" with "slim", suggesting a barely sufficient difference.

by a small margin

Substitutes "low" with "small", indicating a minor difference in quantity or degree.

by a close margin

Emphasizes the nearness of the values or outcomes.

by a hair's breadth

Uses an idiom to convey the idea of a very slight difference.

by a whisker

An idiomatic alternative suggesting a very close result.

just barely

A simple adverbial phrase expressing minimal success.

by the skin of one's teeth

Idiomatic way of saying that something was achieved with great difficulty and only just.

with minimal difference

Focuses on the insignificant difference between the outcomes.

by a negligible amount

Highlights that the difference is so small as to be unimportant.

FAQs

What does it mean to win "by a low margin"?

Winning "by a low margin" means achieving victory with only a small difference between the winner's score or votes and those of the runner-up. It indicates a close competition where the outcome could easily have been different.

What are some alternatives to saying "by a low margin"?

You can use alternatives like "by a narrow margin", "by a slim margin", or "by a small margin" to convey a similar meaning.

Is it correct to say "win by a low margin"?

Yes, it's correct. The phrase "by a low margin" describes the extent of victory. Other similar constructions include "win "by a landslide"" (a very large margin) or "lose by a hair's breadth" (a very small margin).

How does the meaning of "by a low margin" differ from "by a wide margin"?

"By a low margin" indicates a close result, where the difference between the winner and others is small. Conversely, "by a wide margin" signifies a decisive victory or a significant difference between results.