inaccuracy

Everyday

1. A mistake or wrong fact in something said, written or measured. tree →
2. Not being exact or correct; the amount by which a measurement is wrong. tree →

In the lessons

In maths and science, inaccuracy in measurement comes from rough tools or careless reading; pupils repeat measurements to reduce it. In history and media lessons, they look for inaccuracies in sources and news. Phrases: an inaccuracy in, full of inaccuracies, measurement inaccuracy.

Examples

• The teacher found three inaccuracies in my history report. tree →
• The old map was full of inaccuracies. tree →
• We repeated the experiment to reduce inaccuracy. tree →
• The film had many historical inaccuracies. tree →
• The inaccuracy of the cheap scale was about ten grams. tree →
• Check facts carefully to avoid inaccuracies. tree →

Note

Countable for each mistake («inaccuracies»), uncountable for the general quality. Adjective «inaccurate»; opposite «accuracy». In maths, inaccuracy can be measured as the difference between your answer and the true value.