minus

[ mahy-nuhs ]

/ ˈmaɪ nəs /

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See synonyms for: minus / minuses on Thesaurus.com

preposition

less by the subtraction of; decreased by: Ten minus six is four.

lacking or without: a book minus its title page.

adjective

involving or noting subtraction.

algebraically negative: a minus quantity.

less than; just below in quality: to get a C minus on a test.

Informal. having negative qualities or characteristics; inferior.

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

minus sign.

a minus quantity.

a deficiency or loss.

Informal. a person or thing with no apparent abilities, usefulness, etc.: The last applicant was a definite minus.

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Origin of minus

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

Words nearby minus

minty, Minucius Felix, minuend, minuet, Minuit, minus, minuscule, minus cyclophoria, minus sight, minus sign, minute

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use minus in a sentence

On some level, this explains how Turner finished that game as a plus-15 in plus-minus without having monster box-score stats.
Myles Turner’s Game Has Evolved. The Box Score Doesn’t Know It Yet.|Chris Herring (chris.herring@fivethirtyeight.com)|February 10, 2021|FiveThirtyEight
Predicted capacity in 2030 is based on how many new plants are in the pipeline minus those that will be retired by 2030 as well as those that the study predicts are likely to fail.
How much will Africa capitalize on cheap renewable energy as its power grid grows?|Carolyn Gramling|January 25, 2021|Science News
If you got a 90 percent on a math test instead of a 93 percent, you would still get an “A,” or at least an “A-minus.”
Goalies can make or break an NHL season|Fred Bowen|January 14, 2021|Washington Post
Satellite speakers produce the entire range of audio, minus the bass.
Best computer speakers: Make music, video chats, and more a whole lot clearer|Jeremy Helligar|January 12, 2021|Popular-Science

We’ve built 30 plus or minus high-rises between Hoboken, Jersey City, Manhattan and Brooklyn.
Toll Brothers CEO Doug Yearley on Where Americans Are Moving During the Pandemic|Eben Shapiro|January 10, 2021|Time
Normally, 434 members (minus Michael Grimm who resigned) would vote for Speaker.
Democrats Accidentally Save Boehner From Republican Coup|Ben Jacobs, Jackie Kucinich|January 6, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Which prompts the question: In a GOP field minus Portman, what role will same-sex marriage play?
Is Gay Marriage Going Away in 2016?|David Freedlander|December 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
After all, 2009 was miserable: minus 798,000, minus 701,000, minus 826,000, and so on.
Why You Don’t Know Obama Has Created 4.5 Million Jobs|Michael Tomasky|July 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Refuge Recovery is a lot like an AA meeting minus mentions of Him, God, or a higher Power.
The Buddhist Punk Reforming Drug Rehab|Stephen Krcmar|June 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Molly holds the reputation of being an unadulterated drug—Ecstasy minus any and all substances used to cut it.
Miley, Molly, and Your Teen’s Mind|Dr. Anand Veeravagu, MD, Tej Azad|May 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
And she emptied her pockets of all the letters, minus the envelopes, that Fleurette had written.
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol|William J. Locke
Mrs. Biggs opened her window cautiously, and thrust out her head, minus her false hair, and enveloped in a cotton nightcap.
The Cromptons|Mary J. Holmes
The massive shoulders that started minus courtesy of neck from right beneath his double chin.
Hooded Detective, Volume III No. 2, January, 1942|Various
Susie Billings, minus her khaki and cartridges, looked the picture of demureness in white muslin and baby-blue ribbons.
The Sunbridge Girls at Six Star Ranch|Eleanor H. (Eleanor Hodgman) Porter
Now one is obliged to ask, why minus multiplied by minus must give any product at all?
A System of Logic: Ratiocinative and Inductive|John Stuart Mill

British Dictionary definitions for minus

minus

/ (ˈmaɪnəs) /

preposition

reduced by the subtraction offour minus two (written 4 – 2)

informal deprived of; lackingminus the trimmings, that hat would be ordinary

adjective

indicating or involving subtractiona minus sign
Also: negative having a value or designating a quantity less than zeroa minus number

on the negative part of a scale or coordinate axisa value of minus 40°C

involving a disadvantage, harm, etca minus factor

(postpositive) education slightly below the standard of a particular gradehe received a B minus for his essay

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

denoting a negative electric charge

noun

short for minus sign

a negative quantity

a disadvantage, loss, or deficit

informal something detrimental or negative

Mathematical symbol: –

Word Origin for minus

C15: from Latin, neuter of minor

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

minus

Origin of minus

Words nearby minus

Words related to minus

How to use minus in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for minus

Word Origin for minus