Dictionary

discrepancy

noun dis·crep·an·cy \dis-ˈkre-pən-sē\

: a difference especially between things that should be the same

plural dis·crep·an·cies

Full Definition of DISCREPANCY

1
:  the quality or state of disagreeing or being at variance
2
:  an instance of disagreeing or being at variance
ADVERTISEMENT

Examples of DISCREPANCY

  1. Dr. Derman, who spent 17 years at Goldman Sachs and became managing director, was a forerunner of the many physicists and other scientists who have flooded Wall Street in recent years, moving from a world in which a discrepancy of a few percentage points in a measurement can mean a Nobel Prize or unending mockery to a world in which a few percent one way can land you in jail and a few percent the other way can win you your own private Caribbean island. —Dennis Overbye, New York Times, 9 Mar. 2009

Origin of DISCREPANCY

(see discrepant)
First Known Use: circa 1623
DISCREPANCY Defined for Kids

discrepancy

noun dis·crep·an·cy \di-ˈskre-pən-sē\

Definition of DISCREPANCY for Kids

:  a difference between things that are expected to be the same <There is a discrepancy in the records.>

Browse

Next Word in the Dictionary: discrepantPrevious Word in the Dictionary: discrepanceAll Words Near: discrepancy
ADVERTISEMENT
How to use a word that (literally) drives some people nuts.
Test your vocab with our fun, fast game
Ailurophobia, and 9 other unusual fears