Could someone explain, please, what is the difference between "solution of problem" and "solution to problem"?
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prepositions
prepositions
Could someone explain, please, what is the difference between "solution of problem" and "solution to problem"?
Best Answer
In most dictionaries, such as LDOCE, MW or ODO you will find that typical/recommended preposition is to or (somewhat rarer) for.
Macmillan dictionary gives this usage note:
Note that this quote doesn't say explicitly that solution of a problem is ungrammatical, it just states that the usual preposition used here is to.
Online Oxford Collocation Dictionary also lists to and for as prepositions typically used after solution (meaning an answer, not a mixture of liquid with dissolved substances).
But!
This doesn't say that using solution of the problem is absolutely impossible. The meaning of the word of would be:
that is, this is a corresponding solution to/for the given problem.
There is an example of usage in Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary:
(but it took a lot of digging to find this one).
There are examples in books:
from: Numerical Solution of Ordinary Differential Equations by Kendall Atkinson, Weimin Han, David E. Stewart, John Wiley & Sons, 2009
(Of was probably used instead of to for avoiding repetition.)
from: Tissue Mechanics by Stephen C. Cowin, Stephen B. Doty, Springer Science & Business Media, 2007
In conclusion: I would definitely advise that you use solution to the problem, since this is the most commonly used option. See this Google Ngram. This construction sounds more idiomatic (to me) than the other two. If you need to avoid repetition of 'to', you can say solution for the problem. Although the construction solution of the problem wouldn't be my first choice, I would refrain from calling it incorrect, or ungrammatical.
Oh, and to answer your actual question about the difference in meaning: there is none.