(~s)
Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English.
1.
When you make a ~, you consider two or more things and discover the differences between them.
...a ~ of the British and German economies...
Its recommendations are based on detailed ~s between the public and private sectors...
There are no previous statistics for ~.
N-VAR: oft N of/between pl-n
2.
When you make a ~, you say that one thing is like another in some way.
It is demonstrably an unfair ~...
The ~ of her life to a sea voyage simplifies her experience.
N-COUNT
3.
If you say, for example, that something is large or small in ~ with, in ~ to, or by ~ with something else, you mean that it is larger or smaller than the other thing.
The amount of carbon dioxide released by human activities such as burning coal and oil is small in ~...
Those places are modern by ~ with Tresillian.
PHRASE: oft PHR with/to n
4.
If you say there is no ~ between one thing and another, you mean that you think the first thing is much better than the second, or very different from it.
There is no ~ between the knowledge and skill of such a player and the ordinary casual participant.
PHRASE: oft PHR between pl-n emphasis