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.

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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

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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

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Etymology

Origin of minus

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

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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

"We were at minus 10 when we started, but we don't want to spend time thinking about what has passed," said the former Arsenal, Barcelona and Chelsea star.

From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026

At showtime minus three hours I help Folger attach the light-up checkered Pizza Man sign, a gift from her ex-boyfriend, to the roof of her car.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 20, 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

I needed only forty more dollars to pay for my family’s passage, minus what Mr. Stieglitz had just given me, but even that felt impossible.

From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros

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

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

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

From Barron's ● May 5, 2026

There are the pluses from capital gains and there are the minuses from capital losses.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 27, 2025

So, as an introvert, what are the pluses and minuses there?

From Salon ● Apr. 29, 2025

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

From "Habibi" by Naomi Shihab Nye

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