[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/difference.html)

[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/) / [The school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/) / difference

[← D](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/D/)

# difference

«difference» in Mova's school dictionary: **how much bigger one number is than another; you find it…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (difference, differences)

### meaning for a pupil

1) In maths, the difference is how much bigger one number is than another; you find it by subtracting. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/difference/#m1)

2) A difference is a way in which two things are not the same: spot the differences. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/difference/#m2)

3) To make a difference is to change something, often for the better. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/difference/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

the answer to «how many more/fewer … than» (subtract the smaller from the bigger); in class «find the difference between», «spot the difference»; in science differences between animals or materials; in everyday life «it makes no difference», «make a difference»

### examples

- Here the word «more» does not mean adding: it asks how big the difference is. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/difference/#x1)
- What is the difference between 15 and 9? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/difference/#x2)
- Find the difference between Tom's 12 stickers and Ann's 7. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/difference/#x3)
- The difference between 20 and 13 is 7. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/difference/#x4)
- Can you spot five differences between the pictures? [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/difference/#x5)
- One difference between frogs and toads is their skin. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/difference/#x6)
- Recycling makes a big difference to our planet. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/difference/#x7)
- Twins can look the same, but there are small differences. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/difference/#x8)

### note

Difference means subtract the smaller from the bigger. Trap: the word «more» in «how many more … than» asks for a difference, not a sum. Adjective «different». Check: smaller number + difference = bigger number.

### In the corpora

- ["Musical differences" and "taking a break" mean only what was said; nobody outside the band knows the rest.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/48-famous-people-are-people/12/)
- [Darwin visited the Galápagos on the Beagle in 1835, and the differences between islands helped him explain evolution in his book of 1859.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/biology/180-the-galapagos-giant-tortoises-sea-iguanas-darwins-finches-and-tame-sea-lions/13/)
- [Most things around us are solids, liquids or gases, and the difference is how their particles behave.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/chemistry/4-solids-liquids-and-gases/0/)
- ["Irreconcilable differences" is the official reason given for a divorce (US).](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/13-relations-and-family/20/)
- [Differences in height, glasses and hearing aids are normal and never a reason to tease.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/211-growing-seeing-and-hearing/14/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «difference» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/difference/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.