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much

[muhch]
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adjective, more, most.
  1. great in quantity, measure, or degree: too much cake.
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noun
  1. a great quantity, measure, or degree: Much of his research was unreliable.
  2. a great, important, or notable thing or matter: The house is not much to look at.
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adverb, more, most.
  1. to a great extent or degree; greatly; far: to talk too much; much heavier.
  2. nearly, approximately, or about: This is much like the others.
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Idioms
  1. make much of,
    1. to treat, represent, or consider as of great importance: to make much of trivial matters.
    2. to treat with great consideration; show fondness for; flatter.
  2. much as,
    1. almost the same as: We need exercise, much as we need nourishment.
    2. however much: Much as she wanted to stay at the party, she had to leave.
  3. not so much, Informal. not(def 3).
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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. 2018

Examples from the Web for muches

Historical Examples

  • 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
    1. (usually used with a negative)a great quantity or degree ofthere isn't much honey left
    2. (as pronoun)much has been learned from this
  2. a bit much informal rather excessive
  3. as much exactly thatI suspected as much when I heard
  4. make much of See make of (def. 4)
  5. not much of not to any appreciable degree or extenthe's not much of an actor really
  6. not up to much informal of a low standardthis beer is not up to much
  7. think much of (used with a negative) to have a high opinion ofI don't think much of his behaviour
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adverb
  1. considerablythey're much better now
  2. practically; nearly (esp in the phrase much the same)
  3. (usually used with a negative) often; a great dealit doesn't happen much in this country
  4. much as or as much as even though; althoughmuch as I'd like to, I can't come
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adjective
  1. (predicative; usually used with a negative) impressive or importantthis car isn't much
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See also more, most

Word Origin

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.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

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
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.