better than
Idioms-
Superior to, as in He's no better than Tom at writing a memo . [9th century]
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More than, larger in amount or greater in rate, as in My new car can do better than 100 miles an hour , or The new plan will cut better than 15 percent of costs . Some authorities consider this usage colloquial and advise that it be avoided in formal writing. [Late 1500s] Also see better half , def. 1.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
But he’s proven that, better than anyone in his field, he can pull off the hardest thing for entertainers these days: Getting people to turn out.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 15, 2026
"Life for me personally, and for the family, is better than it was before," he said.
From BBC • May 15, 2026
“It’s the reason why retail sales across so many categories have held up better than what many of us might have thought.”
From MarketWatch • May 15, 2026
The average S&P 500 company has seen sales estimates increase 2.6% this year, so identifying companies that are roughly in step with or better than the average increases the likelihood of avoiding truly deteriorating businesses.
From Barron's • May 14, 2026
I personally thought things were going better than expected.
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
