parity
gb/pˈɛɹəti/ us/pˈɛɹəti/
B2
English
Senses
0 senses
Noun
formal
B2
state
1
equality in status or value
a situation in which two people, groups, or things are equal or almost equal
Usage pattern:
parity with [someone/something]; parity between [groups/things]; parity in [area]
Common mistake:
Do not use parity for any kind of similarity; it usually means equality or close equivalence.
Synonyms
equality (more general and more common in everyday English)
|
equivalence (emphasizes having the same value, effect, or meaning)
|
equal status (clearer when talking about social or professional position)
Antonyms
inequality (a lack of equal status, treatment, or opportunity)
|
disparity (a noticeable difference, especially an unfair one)
Collocations
achieve parity
|reach parity
|full parity
|parity with
|parity between
|parity in representation
|pay parity
|gender parity
|price parity
|political parity
Themes
society
|work
|politics
|rights
Examples
- The new policy is meant to achieve parity between part-time and full-time employees.
- Campaigners are pushing for parity in political representation.
- Teachers want pay parity with other public-sector professionals.
Learner examples
- The two groups have not reached parity yet.
- The company wants parity in pay.
Noun
business
C1
state
2
equal financial or exchange value
a point where two currencies, prices, or financial values are equal
Usage pattern:
[currency/asset] reaches/trades at parity with [currency/value]
Common mistake:
This financial use is mainly for comparing values, especially currencies or assets; it is not just a general word for price.
Synonyms
equivalence (general term for equal value)
|
equal value (plain-language alternative)
Antonyms
divergence (movement away from equal or comparable value)
|
discount (a value below the reference level in some financial contexts)
|
premium (a value above the reference level in some financial contexts)
Collocations
currency parity
|exchange-rate parity
|dollar parity
|reach parity
|at parity
|above parity
|below parity
|parity with the dollar
|purchasing power parity
Themes
finance
|economics
|business
|markets
Examples
- For the first time in years, the euro briefly reached parity with the dollar.
- The Canadian dollar moved closer to parity with the U.S. dollar.
- Analysts said the currency was unlikely to return to parity this year.
Learner examples
- The two currencies are near parity.
- One euro was almost at parity with one dollar.
Noun
technical
C1
property
3
odd-or-even property
whether a number or a count of bits is odd or even
Usage pattern:
the parity of [a number/count/bits]; odd/even parity
Common mistake:
In this technical meaning, parity is about oddness or evenness, not social equality.
Synonyms
oddness or evenness (plain explanation rather than a technical term)
Antonyms
opposite parity (one value is odd and the other even, or the bit count does not match the expected parity)
Collocations
odd parity
|even parity
|same parity
|opposite parity
|parity bit
|parity check
|parity error
|parity function
|check parity
Themes
mathematics
|computing
|data
|programming
Examples
- Adding 1 changes the parity of any integer.
- The memory system uses parity to detect some data errors.
- In this protocol, even parity means the total number of 1 bits must be even.
Learner examples
- Six and eight have the same parity because both are even.
- Five and six have opposite parity.
Noun
C1
state
4
competitive balance among teams
a situation where teams are close in ability and no team is much stronger than the others
Usage pattern:
parity in [a league/sport]; parity among [teams/competitors]
Common mistake:
This use is common in sports commentary, especially in North American English.
Synonyms
competitive balance (the standard sports term and usually more transparent)
|
evenness (less formal and more general)
Antonyms
dominance (one team or competitor is clearly stronger than the others)
|
imbalance (competitors are not equal in strength or resources)
Collocations
league parity
|competitive parity
|greater parity
|more parity
|create parity
|increase parity
|lack of parity
|parity among teams
|salary-cap parity
Themes
sports
|competition
|games
Examples
- The league has more parity this season, with no clear favorite.
- Salary caps are designed to create parity among teams.
- Fans like the parity because almost every game feels competitive.
Learner examples
- There is a lot of parity in the league this year.
- Parity makes the games more exciting.
Noun
technical
C2
quantity
5
number of childbirths
a medical term for how many times someone has given birth
Usage pattern:
parity of [number]; high/low parity; gravidity and parity
Common mistake:
Do not confuse parity with gravidity: gravidity counts pregnancies, while parity counts births that reached a defined stage.
Synonyms
number of births (plain-language equivalent)
|
birth history (broader term that may include details beyond the number of births)
Antonyms
nulliparity (the state of never having given birth)
Collocations
gravidity and parity
|maternal parity
|high parity
|low parity
|parity status
|parity data
|parity history
|parity of two
Themes
medicine
|health
|pregnancy
|childbirth
Examples
- The study adjusted the results for age, smoking, and parity.
- Her medical record listed her gravidity and parity separately.
- Higher parity was associated with a different risk profile in the analysis.
Learner examples
- The form asks about pregnancy history and parity.
Grammar
Dictionary form
parity
IPA
GB/pˈɛɹəti/
US/pˈɛɹəti/
Syllables & stress
par - ity (2 syllables)
Stress on 1st syllable (par)
Word forms
Noun
- Base: parity
- Plural: parities, parity
Expressions
at parity
1/ˈæt pˈɛɹəti/
fixed phrase
business
at an equal value
at the same value or level as something else
Examples
- The euro was briefly at parity with the dollar.
- Analysts expect the two plans to be at parity in cost by next year.
- The currency traded at parity with its U.S. counterpart for the first time in months.
gender parity
1/d͡ʒˈɛndɚ pˈɛɹəti/
fixed phrase
formal
equality between genders
a situation where people of different genders have equal chances, treatment, or representation
Examples
- The company says it has reached gender parity in senior management.
- The report tracks progress toward gender parity in education.
- Several parties introduced quotas to improve gender parity in parliament.
mental health parity
1/mˈɛntəl hˈɛlθ pˈɛɹəti/
fixed phrase
legal
equal mental health coverage
a rule or principle that mental health care should be covered like physical health care
Examples
- The new rules strengthen mental health parity for insurance plans.
- Advocates say mental health parity is still not fully enforced.
- The law requires mental health parity in many employer-sponsored health plans.
parity bit
1/pˈɛɹəti bˈɪt/
fixed phrase
technical
error-checking binary digit
an extra 0 or 1 added to computer data to help find errors
Examples
- The system adds a parity bit to each byte before transmission.
- If a parity bit does not match the data, the receiver can flag an error.
- Older communication protocols often relied on a simple parity bit.
parity check
1/pˈɛɹəti t͡ʃˈɛk/
fixed phrase
technical
data error check
a computer check that uses odd or even bit counts to find some data errors
Examples
- The device performs a parity check when it receives each block of data.
- The file transfer failed after a parity check detected a corrupted byte.
- Parity checks are simple, but they cannot catch every possible error.
pay parity
1/pˈeɪ pˈɛɹəti/
fixed phrase
business
equal pay for comparable work
equal pay for people who do the same or equally valuable work
Examples
- Nurses campaigned for pay parity with other public-sector workers.
- The new law aims to improve pay parity between men and women.
- The company published salary data to show its progress on pay parity.
price parity
1/pɹˈaɪs pˈɛɹəti/
fixed phrase
business
same price across places
a situation where the same thing costs the same in different places or on different websites
Examples
- Hotels often agree to maintain price parity across booking sites.
- The retailer uses discounts carefully to avoid breaking price parity with its stores.
- Customers complained that price parity did not apply in all regions.
purchasing power parity
1/pˈɚt͡ʃəsɪŋ pˈaʊɚ pˈɛɹəti/
fixed phrase
technical
currency comparison by buying power
a way to compare money in different countries by what it can actually buy
Examples
- The report compares countries' incomes using purchasing power parity.
- On a purchasing power parity basis, the economy looks larger than exchange rates alone suggest.
- Researchers adjusted the figures for purchasing power parity before comparing living standards.