much

[muhch]

adjective, more, most.

great in quantity, measure, or degree: too much cake.

noun

a great quantity, measure, or degree: Much of his research was unreliable.

a great, important, or notable thing or matter: The house is not much to look at.

adverb, more, most.

to a great extent or degree; greatly; far: to talk too much; much heavier.

nearly, approximately, or about: This is much like the others.

Idioms

make much of,

to treat, represent, or consider as of great importance: to make much of trivial matters.
to treat with great consideration; show fondness for; flatter.

much as,

almost the same as: We need exercise, much as we need nourishment.
however much: Much as she wanted to stay at the party, she had to leave.

not so much, Informal. not(def 3).

Origin of much

1150–1200; Middle English muche, moche, apocopated variant of muchel, mochel, Old English mycel; replacing Middle English miche(l), Old English micel great, much (cf. mickle), cognate with Old Norse mikill, Gothic mikils, Greek mégal-, suppletive stem of mégas great

Can be confusedmuch very (see usage note at very)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for muches

enough, regularly, considerably, often, indeed, exceptionally, highly, very, frequently, extremely, plenty, great, full, scads, heaps, loads, breadth, plethora, superabundance, fullness

Examples from the Web for muches

Historical Examples of muches

In anser to your Innqueries, their as been a great falling off laterally, so muches this year that there was nobody allmost.
The Poetical Works of Thomas Hood
Thomas Hood

British Dictionary definitions for muches

much

determiner

(usually used with a negative)a great quantity or degree ofthere isn't much honey left
(as pronoun)much has been learned from this

a bit much informal rather excessive

as much exactly thatI suspected as much when I heard

make much of See make of (def. 4)

not much of not to any appreciable degree or extenthe's not much of an actor really

not up to much informal of a low standardthis beer is not up to much

think much of (used with a negative) to have a high opinion ofI don't think much of his behaviour

adverb

considerablythey're much better now

practically; nearly (esp in the phrase much the same)

(usually used with a negative) often; a great dealit doesn't happen much in this country

much as or as much as even though; althoughmuch as I'd like to, I can't come

adjective

(predicative; usually used with a negative) impressive or importantthis car isn't much

Word Origin for much

Old English mycel; related to Old English micel great, Old Saxon mikil, Gothic mikils; compare also Latin magnus, Greek megas

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

Word Origin and History for muches

much

adj.

c.1200, worn down by loss of unaccented last syllable from Middle English muchel "large, much," from Old English micel "great in amount or extent," from Proto-Germanic *mekilaz, from PIE *meg- "great" (see mickle). As a noun and an adverb, from c.1200. For vowel evolution, see bury.

Idioms and Phrases with muches

much

In addition to the idioms beginning with much

much ado about nothing
much as
much less
much sought after

also see:

as much
as much as
make much of
not miss a trick (much)
not think much of
pretty much
so much
so much for
so much the better
(much) sought after
take it (just so much)
take on (too much)
too much of a good thing
without so much as