give or take

Idioms  

1. Plus or minus a small amount, approximately, more or less. For example, We have ten acres of land, give or take a bit, or It should take a couple of hours, give or take. [Mid-1900s]

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Example Sentences

And the wound had time to heal—a diagnosis Mr. Benoit makes 250 million years after the fact, give or take a few thousand millennia.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 10, 2026

For most investors, that would typically be between about 10% of their assets in gold, give or take about 5%, depending what else is in their portfolio.

From Barron's • Feb. 6, 2026

For what it’s worth, there is gravity on the moon, albeit about a sixth of what it is on Earth, give or take.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 30, 2025

And to be considered wealthy, Americans have said for the last five years that it takes roughly $2 million, give or take a few hundred thousand dollars.

From MarketWatch • Oct. 27, 2025

Sixty-six million years ago, give or take a few centuries, an asteroid about the size of Manhattan Island slammed into Earth near what we now call the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico.

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin