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# discrepancy

noun (a discrepancy, discrepancies)

«discrepancy» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. A difference between two things that should be the same, such as two numbers, accounts or stories. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/discrepancy/#m1)
2. A mismatch that shows something may be wrong. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/discrepancy/#m2)

### In the lessons

In maths and science, a discrepancy is a difference between expected and measured results; in detective stories, discrepancies in what people say reveal a lie; in money, between the till and the receipts; phrases: «a discrepancy between», «explain the discrepancy».

### Examples

- There was a discrepancy between the two thermometers. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/discrepancy/#x1)
- The detective spotted a discrepancy in the witness's story. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/discrepancy/#x2)
- We found a discrepancy of £2 in the cake sale money. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/discrepancy/#x3)
- Can you explain the discrepancy between your answer and mine? [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/discrepancy/#x4)
- The discrepancy was caused by a typo. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/discrepancy/#x5)
- Scientists noticed a discrepancy in the data. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/discrepancy/#x6)
- The register showed 28 pupils, but there were 27: a discrepancy of one. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/discrepancy/#x7)

### Note

Countable: discrepancies (y → ies). In maths, the discrepancy is found by subtracting: if one count is 30 and the other is 27, the discrepancy is 3. Formal word; simpler: difference, mismatch.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «discrepancy» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/discrepancy/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«discrepancy» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/discrepancy.html) on Mova free.