difference

UK/ˈdɪf.(ə.)ɹəns/US/ˈdɪf.(ə.)ɹəns/

nounA13 meanings Very common — you will meet it every day · #501 of 15,258neutral

Other forms: differences

A difference is the way two things are not the same. The difference between the twins is that one wears glasses. The difference between the two quotes was four hundred pounds, which is how the builder got the job.

It takes BETWEEN when you name the two things and IN when you name the quality: the difference between London and Manchester, a difference in temperature, a difference in tone. To make a difference means to have a real effect, and one good teacher can make a difference to a whole class; it makes no difference to me means I do not mind either way. In maths the difference is what is left after you subtract. In the plural it means a quarrel, so when two people settle their differences they have made peace. Watch the ending, which is -ence and never -ance.

Definitions of difference

1noundifferenceThe way in which two or more things are not the same.A1~61%
“The difference between the two rooms is about three degrees.”
synonyms: distinction, contrast
2nounamountThe amount by which one number or quantity is bigger than another.B1~37%
“The difference between the two bills came to eleven pounds.”
3noundisagreementA disagreement or quarrel. This sense takes the plural: differences.B2~2%
“They put their differences aside for a week and finished the job.”

Shares are an estimate: a language model read 16 sentences found in the wild and placed 16 of them on a sense — a count of our sample, not a measurement of English.

Phrases it lives in

make a difference — To have a real effect on a situation.
split the difference — To settle an argument by agreeing on the amount halfway between two figures.

Where it comes from

Difference came through Old French from Latin differentia, formed from differēns, meaning differing, the present participle of the verb differo. English later built the same word again out of its own parts, differ plus -ence, and kept differentia itself as a technical term.

Middle English
difference
English, today
difference

Built from

differēns · Latin — different

From Middle English difference. From Middle English difference, from Old French difference, from Latin differentia (“difference”), from differēns (“different”), present participle of differo. a doublet of differentia. Morphologically differ + ence.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practised in Big Ideas, Numbers & Measurement

Practise this word

difference in the wild

Since voltage is the difference in electric potential, it is a physical scalar quantity.
Voltage
In words: the difference of two numbers is the number that gives the first one when added to the second one.
Subtraction
Goal difference is zero sum, in that a gain for one team (+1) is exactly balanced by the loss for their opponent.
Goal difference
Therefore, the sum of the goal differences in a league table is always zero (provided the teams have only played each other).
Goal difference
The difference applies in US law as well.
Common purpose

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From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.

From Project Gutenberg, public domain. These sentences are from real books, shown to illustrate the word at work.

Related words

Definitions of difference

1noundifferenceThe way in which two or more things are not the same.A1~61%

“The difference between the two rooms is about three degrees.”

synonyms: distinction, contrast

2nounamountThe amount by which one number or quantity is bigger than another.B1~37%

“The difference between the two bills came to eleven pounds.”

3noundisagreementA disagreement or quarrel. This sense takes the plural: differences.B2~2%

“They put their differences aside for a week and finished the job.”

Shares are an estimate: a language model read 16 sentences found in the wild and placed 16 of them on a sense — a count of our sample, not a measurement of English.