minus

American  

[mahy-nuhs] / ˈmaɪ nəs /

preposition

1. less by the subtraction of; decreased by.

   Ten minus six is four.

2. lacking or without.

   a book minus its title page.

---

adjective

1. involving or noting subtraction.

2. algebraically negative.

   a minus quantity.

3. less than; just below in quality.

   to get a C minus on a test.

4. Informal. having negative qualities or characteristics; inferior.

5. Mycology. (in heterothallic fungi) designating, in the absence of morphological differentiation, one of the two strains of mycelia that unite in the sexual process.

noun

• minuses
  plural

1. minus sign.

2. a minus quantity.

3. a deficiency or loss.

4. Informal. a person or thing with no apparent abilities, usefulness, etc..

   The last applicant was a definite minus.

minus British  

/ ˈmaɪnəs /

preposition

1. reduced by the subtraction of

   four minus two (written 4 – 2)

2. informal deprived of; lacking

   minus the trimmings, that hat would be ordinary

---

adjective

1. 1. indicating or involving subtraction

      a minus sign

   2. Also: negative. having a value or designating a quantity less than zero

      a minus number

2. on the negative part of a scale or coordinate axis

   a value of minus 40°C

3. involving a disadvantage, harm, etc

   a minus factor

4. (postpositive) education slightly below the standard of a particular grade

   he received a B minus for his essay

5. botany designating the strain of a fungus that can only undergo sexual reproduction with a plus strain

6. denoting a negative electric charge

noun

1. short for minus sign

2. a negative quantity

3. a disadvantage, loss, or deficit

4. informal something detrimental or negative

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• minuses
  plural

---

Etymology

Origin of minus

1300–50; Middle English < Latin, neuter of minor less; see minor

---

Explanation

Use the word minus to mean "less" or "with the subtraction of." When it's minus fifteen degrees outside, it's fifteen below zero — or fifteen degrees less than zero. Whenever you talk about negative numbers, whether they relate to temperature or your bank account, the adjective minus always applies. If you have minus fifty dollars in the bank, you're below zero on the money scale. You can also use minus as noun, to mean "subtraction," or a subtraction mark: "Put a minus in front of that three before you add the columns." Minus means "less" in Latin, and it's closely related to minor, or "smaller."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

minus minuses

He lasted two days as a Sea Org recruiter, meaning, he writes, “contractually, I owe the Church of Scientology a billion years of labor minus two days.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026

Options are implying a rise or decline of 98 basis points for that ETF on Wednesday, which is lower than the 12-month average of a plus or minus 125 basis-point move, he said.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 12, 2026

The nuclear clock achieved a relative precision of approximately 10 to the power of minus 15, equivalent to an error of roughly one second over 30 million years.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2026

Wealth is measured as a household’s assets, like stocks and home equity, minus their liabilities, like mortgages and credit-card debt.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026

Divide thirty-five dollars by, say, three weeks, minus Boseman’s share, and the lost bounty was a very small price to pay for silence and a restful mind.

From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead

Ponderously disjointed, unnecessarily long, and emotionally distant are its minuses.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

The net effect of these pluses and minuses is unknown.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 2, 2026

That’s a slight pullback from March, and the underlying data had both pluses and minuses.

From Barron's ● May 5, 2026

"The plusses outweigh the minuses," Maguire told BBC Sport.

From BBC ● Mar. 23, 2026

Who even cared about the minuses on his old conduct grades by now?

From "Habibi" by Naomi Shihab Nye

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---