precision
part of speech
noun (precision — uncountable); adjective (precision tools, precision engineering)
meaning for a pupil
1) Precision means being very exact and careful, getting every small detail right. tree →
2) (maths, science) Precision is how exact a measurement is, for example to the nearest millimetre rather than to the nearest metre. tree →
3) As an adjective before a noun, precision means made to be very exact (precision tools). tree →
sense in the lessons
In maths and science, precision is about the number of decimal places or how small the units are (3.14159 is more precise than 3.14). Precision differs from accuracy: accurate means close to the true value, precise means exact and repeatable. In stories and sport it shows skill (a goal kicked with precision).
examples
- She cut the paper with great precision. tree →
- Measure to the nearest millimetre for more precision. tree →
- Surgeons work with precision. tree →
- The arrow hit the target with amazing precision. tree →
- Giving π as 3.14159 shows more precision than 3.14. tree →
- The watch was made with precision tools. tree →
- Gymnasts need precision and balance. tree →
- The specific actions of the two waters are described with great precision in this story. tree →
note
Uncountable: "with precision", not "a precision". Adjective: precise; adverb: precisely. Trap: precision is not accuracy — you can be very precise and still wrong (5.287 m when the real length is 6 m). Spelling: -sion, not -tion.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «precision» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.