perimeter
noun
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Parameter vs. Perimeter
It's very easy to confuse parameter with perimeter. Not only do the two words sound the same, they both connote a boundary or limit.
When parameter is used to mean "a boundary or limit," it is usually in its plural form, and often as the object of a preposition such as within or beyond:
Let's face it, managing weight loss or maintenance can be trying enough within the parameters of a daily routine.
Geoff Kerr, Weight Watchers, November 1991Though candor sometimes encourages Bruno to "stray beyond the parameters of good taste," his interaction with Lydia is always convincingly portrayed as a loving, tender relationship.
Ron Charles, The Washington Post, 8 Feb. 2011
In geometry, perimeter refers to the boundary of a closed plane figure. You might remember calculating perimeters in school. If each side of an equilateral triangle measures 9 feet, then the perimeter of the triangle measures 27 feet. In more general use, perimeter describes an outer stretch, as in "The college president lived in a house on the perimeter of the campus."
Parameter originally had a meaning pertaining to mathematics as well. The dictionary defines it as "an arbitrary constant whose value characterizes a member of a system (as a family of curves); also : a quantity (as a mean or variance) that describes a statistical population" as well as "an independent variable used to express the coordinates of a variable point and functions of them."
Some twentieth-century usage commentators objected to the use of a scientific-sounding word like parameter in general contexts (as in the examples above), especially to mean "a limit or boundary," theorizing that perimeter must have been what the speaker or writer intended.
However, perimeter was not often used in the phrasings that parameter is used in (that is, as the object of within or beyond) until much later. In fact, a word such as bounds or range or confines often serves as a more appropriate equivalent for parameter than the marginal connotations of perimeter:
But a true novel is an extended piece of fiction: Length is clearly one of its parameters.
Anthony Burgess, The New York Times Book Review, 5 Feb. 1984Shields will then subsume that request in the overall City operating budget that he will recommend to the City Council in mid-March, and the Council will make its final decisions on the parameters of the budget, including any tax increases or cuts, by the end of April.
Nicholas F. Benton, The Falls Church News Press, 6 Jan. 2016
Did you know?
The perimeter of a prison is ringed with high walls and watchtowers, and the entire perimeter of Australia is bounded by water. In geometry, you may be asked to calculate the perimeter of various geometrical shapes. In basketball, the perimeter is the area beyond the free-throw circle; a "perimeter player" tends to stay outside that circle. Try not to confuse this word with parameter, which usually means a rule or limit that controls what something is or how it can be done.
Synonyms
Examples of perimeter in a Sentence
Bennett Durando, The Denver Post, 5 Dec. 2024
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Gillespie said perimeter defense was stressed as a key by the Maryland coaches.
—Edward Lee, Baltimore Sun, 5 Dec. 2024
Their brilliance frequently masked the lack of shooting or the spotty perimeter defense.
—Rohan Nadkarni, NBC News, 5 Dec. 2024
More often than not, companies today are oblivious to encryption as a data security tool and are content to use perimeter security measures like firewalls, monitoring and multifactor authentication to guard against would-be adversaries.
—Ameesh Divatia, Forbes, 4 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for perimeter 
Dictionary Entries Near perimeter
Cite this Entry
“Perimeter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/perimeter. Accessed 22 Dec. 2024.
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