Less

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See also -less

English

Most common English words: used « began « thy « #254: less » till » next » poor

Etymology

Old English læs

Pronunciation

• IPA: /lɛs/, SAMPA: /lEs/

• Audio (US)	noicon
  (file)

• Audio (UK)	noicon
  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɛs

Adverb

Less (not comparable)

Positive Less

Comparative not comparable

Superlative none (absolute)

1. to smaller extent
2. In lower degree

   This is a less bad solution than I thought possible.

Translations

to smaller extent

Arabic: أقل ar(ar) ('aqall) Chinese: Mandarin: 更少 cmn(cmn) (gèng shǎo) Czech: méně cs(cs) Dutch: minder nl(nl) French: moins fr(fr)

German: weniger de(de) Japanese: ...より少なく ja(ja) (...yori sukunaku) Norwegian: mindre no(no) Polish: mniej pl(pl) Russian: меньше ru(ru) (mén’še) Spanish: menos es(es)

Determiner

Less (Template:Superl least)

1. Comparative form of little; smaller, not so great.

   I have less than you have.

   I have less tea than coffee.

2. Template:Proscribed A smaller number of; fewer.
   • 2003, Timandra Harkness, The Guardian, 16 Dec 2003:

     Although my hosts, G S Aviation, can teach you to fly in Wiltshire, an intensive week at their French airfield means less problems with the weather, cheap but good living, and complete removal from any distractions.

   • 1952, Thomas M Pryor, The New York Times, 7 Sep 1952:

     This is not a happy situation as far as the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employes is concerned because it means less jobs for the union's members here at home.

Usage notes

Template:Usage less fewer

Preposition

Template:En-prep

1. minus; not including

   It should then tax all of that as personal income, less the proportion of the car's annual mileage demonstrably clocked up on company business.

Antonyms

• more

Derived terms

Terms derived from "less"

less is more

more or less

nevertheless

Translations

not including

Arabic: اقل (’aqáll) Chinese: 较少 (jiào shǎo) Dutch: minder nl(nl), minder dan nl(nl) Finnish: vähemmän fi(fi), vähäisempi fi(fi) French: moins fr(fr), moins de fr(fr), moins que fr(fr) I have less tea than you - J'ai moins de thé que toi I have less tea than coffee - J'ai moins de thé que de café I had to wait less than ten minutes - J'ai dû attendre moins que dix minutes German: weniger de(de), weniger als de(de) I have less tea than you - Ich habe weniger Tee als du I have less tea than coffee - Ich habe weniger Tee als Kaffee I had to wait less than ten minutes - Ich mußte weniger als zehn Minuten warten Hungarian: kevesebb hu(hu), kevésbé hu(hu) Ido: min Italian: meno it(it) I have less tea than you - Ho meno tè di te I have less tea than coffee - Ho meno tè che caffé I had to wait less than ten minutes - Ho dovuto aspettare meno di dieci minuti

Japanese: より小さい (yori chiisai) Korean: 보다 적은 (boda jeogeun) Portuguese: menos pt(pt) Romanian: mai puţin ro(ro) Russian: меньший ru(ru) (mén’šij) Spanish: menos es(es) Swedish: mindre sv(sv) I have less tea than you - Jag har mindre te än du (colloquial), Jag har mindre te än vad du har (formal) I have less tea than coffee - Jag har mindre te än kaffe I had to wait less than ten minutes - Jag fick vänta mindre än tio minuter (voluntary or forced act)

See also

• fewer

et:less el:less es:less fr:less ko:less io:less it:less kn:less sw:less ku:less lo:less hu:less ml:less nl:less ja:less oc:less pl:less pt:less simple:less fi:less sv:less ta:less te:less th:less tr:less vi:less zh:less