marginal utility: meaning, definition, pronunciation and examples
Low in everyday conversation, high in academic/professional economics contexts.Formal, academic, technical, professional.
Quick answer
What does “marginal utility” mean?
The additional satisfaction or benefit gained from consuming one more unit of a good or service.
Audio
Pronunciation
Definition
Meaning and Definition
The additional satisfaction or benefit gained from consuming one more unit of a good or service.
A foundational concept in microeconomics describing how the perceived value of an additional unit decreases as total consumption increases, forming the basis for the law of diminishing marginal utility.
Dialectal Variation
British vs American Usage
Differences
Conceptually identical. Pronunciation differences follow general BrE/AmE patterns for the constituent words.
Connotations
Purely technical and theoretical in both varieties. No cultural or connotative differences.
Frequency
Equally frequent in economics literature in both varieties.
Grammar
How to Use “marginal utility” in a Sentence
The marginal utility of [NOUN]marginal utility declines/diminishesmarginal utility is high/lowVocabulary
Collocations
Examples
Examples of “marginal utility” in a Sentence
verb
British English
- Economists marginalise the concept to derive demand curves.
- One cannot directly marginal utility a good; it is derived mathematically.
American English
- The function is used to marginalize utility across commodities.
- We need to marginal utility for the last unit consumed.
adverb
British English
- The benefit decreases marginally utility-wise.
- He argued, rather marginally, about the utility of the next unit.
American English
- The value was assessed marginally, based on utility.
- Utility diminishes marginally with each addition.
adjective
British English
- The marginal-utility analysis was central to his thesis.
- They discussed the marginal utility effect.
American English
- The marginal-utility principle underpins the model.
- Her paper focused on marginal-utility curves.
Usage
Meaning in Context
Business
Used in strategic analysis of customer value perception and pricing models.
Academic
Core concept in microeconomics lectures, textbooks, and papers on consumer behavior.
Everyday
Virtually never used. Might be simplified to 'the less you want something the more you have of it'.
Technical
Precise, mathematical use in economic modeling and utility functions (e.g., MU = dU/dQ).
Vocabulary
Synonyms of “marginal utility”
Strong
Neutral
Weak
Vocabulary
Antonyms of “marginal utility”
Watch out
Common Mistakes When Using “marginal utility”
- Using 'marginal' to mean 'small' or 'insignificant' rather than 'incremental'.
- Confusing 'utility' with 'utilisation'.
- Saying 'marginal usefulness' which is less idiomatic in economics.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
No. 'Utility' is the total satisfaction from all units consumed. 'Marginal utility' is the added satisfaction from the last (next) unit only.
Yes. If consuming an additional unit causes dissatisfaction (e.g., eating too much makes you sick), the marginal utility is negative.
It emerged independently in the 1870s through the work of economists like William Stanley Jevons, Carl Menger, and Léon Walras, in an period known as the Marginal Revolution.
It's a theoretical tool for modeling consumer choice. Businesses may implicitly use the concept in pricing strategies (e.g., bulk discounts) where the perceived marginal utility of additional units is lower.
The additional satisfaction or benefit gained from consuming one more unit of a good or service.
Marginal utility is usually formal, academic, technical, professional. in register.
Marginal utility: in British English it is pronounced /ˌmɑː.dʒɪ.nəl juːˈtɪl.ə.ti/, and in American English it is pronounced /ˌmɑːr.dʒɪ.nəl juːˈtɪl.ə.t̬i/. Tap the audio buttons above to hear it.
Phrases
Idioms & Phrases
- “None. It is a technical term, not used idiomatically.”
Learning
Memory Aids
Mnemonic
Imagine eating slices of pizza: the first slice gives high MARGINAL UTILITY (lots of satisfaction), the fifth slice gives much lower utility. 'Marginal' = 'edge' – the benefit at the edge of your consumption.
Conceptual Metaphor
SATISFACTION IS A DIMINISHING RESOURCE (The more you consume, the less each new unit quenches your want).
Practice
Quiz
What does 'marginal' mean in 'marginal utility'?