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Dictionary Entry

marginal

Part of SpeechnounPronunciation/ˈmɑːˌdʒɪn.əl/Word FrequencyCommon (4.69)Curriculum FrequencyLess common (1)

Something that is marginal.

In a Sentence

The article includes marginal to support a careful argument.

Published Usage Examples

I think Pennsylvania, Ohio, Florida, West Virginia -- all those what I call marginal states where the pivotal states you're going to see the kind of fluctuations that we're seeing.

European biofuels developers are buying large tracts of what they call "marginal land" in Africa with the aim of cultivating biofuel crops, particularly the woody bush known as jatropha.

This entry also appears in ReadingWillow Year 11 word lists, so students can move between the dictionary and year-level study sets.

Origin

From Latin 'margo' meaning 'edge, border'.

Common Phrases

cost marginalutility marginalrevenue marginalproduct marginalcosts marginalproductivity marginalmarginal diminishing

Poetry examples for marginal

Excerpts from the ReadingWillow English Library collection.

Poetry examples are still being gathered for this entry. They will appear here once matching poems are available in the library.