plus

American  

[pluhs] / plʌs /

preposition

1. more by the addition of; increased by.

   ten plus two is twelve.

2. with the addition of; with.

   He had wealth plus fame.

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adjective

1. involving or noting addition.

2. positive.

   a plus quantity.

3. more (by a certain amount).

4. Electricity. pertaining to or characterized by positive electricity.

   the plus terminal.

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.

6. having a certain quality to an unusual degree.

   He has personality plus.

noun

• pluses,
  plural
• plusses
  plural

1. a plus quantity.

2. Arithmetic. plus sign.

3. something additional.

4. a surplus or gain.

conjunction

1. Informal. also; and; furthermore.

   A bicycle is cheaper than a car, plus it doesn't pollute the air.

adverb

1. in addition; besides.

idioms

1. pluses and minuses, the good and bad points of something; the advantages and disadvantages; the pros and cons.

   She spent hours listing the pluses and minuses of each of the apartments she had looked at, trying to narrow down her choices.

plus British  

/ plʌs /

preposition

1. increased by the addition of

   four plus two (written 4 + 2)

2. with or with the addition of

   a good job, plus a new car

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adjective

1. Also: positive.  (prenominal) indicating or involving addition

   a plus sign

2. another word for positive positive

3. on the positive part of a scale or coordinate axis

   a value of +x

4. indicating the positive side of an electrical circuit

5. involving positive advantage or good

   a plus factor

6. informal (postpositive) having a value above that which is stated or expected

   she had charm plus

7. (postpositive) slightly above a specified standard on a particular grade or percentage

   he received a B+ rating on his essay

8. botany designating the strain of fungus that can only undergo sexual reproduction with a minus strain

noun

1. short for plus sign

2. a positive quantity

3. informal something positive or to the good

4. a gain, surplus, or advantage

Usage

Since plus as a preposition has long had the meanings “more by the addition of ” and “with the addition of,” it was but a short step to a newer use, mainly in informal writing and speech, as a conjunction meaning “also, and, furthermore.” Although this use is increasing, many object to it, and it is rare in more formal writing. And plus is likewise objected to, especially for being redundant: The paper was delivered two hours late, and plus it was soaking wet.

Plus, together with, and along with do not create compound subjects in the way that and does: the number of the verb depends on that of the subject to which plus, together with, or along with is added: this task, plus all the others, was (not were ) undertaken by the government; the doctor, together with the nurses, was (not were ) waiting for the patient

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• pluses
  plural
• plusses
  plural

Etymology

Origin of plus

First recorded in 1570–80; from Latin plūs “more”; akin to Greek pleíōn, Old Norse fleiri “more,” Old English feolu, fela, German viel, Gothic filu, Old Irish il, Greek polý “many”

Explanation

A plus is an “advantage” or an “asset.” You might look silly walking around with flippers all day, but if you lived underwater, they would definitely be a plus. In Latin, the route plus means “more.” The word plus in English can have many senses, all relating to this idea of more, addition, or positive. This noun sense of the word means “a positive quality.” In the same way a number above zero on a number line is positive, and can use a plus sign, a plus is "a positive asset," like a superhero’s ability to fly or a spy’s ability to speak several languages.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

plus pluses plusses

The Inter Miami forward, 39, also became an eight-time Ballon d'Or winner and won the Champions League four times with Barcelona, plus 10 La Liga titles in 17 seasons in their first team.

From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026

It means parents and guardians will not have to buy more than three branded items, plus a tie for children in secondary school.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

A jury found Pitts guilty on June 16 and, on Thursday, he was sentenced to life plus seven years in state prison with the possibility of parole.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

A lingering reliability premium for non-Gulf oil would be a net plus for the U.S. as a Western Hemisphere energy power.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026

His siblings had studied enough Latin to know what incognito meant: it was simply in, which means “not,” plus cognitus, which means “to know.”

From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood

Watch personal-tech columnist Nicole Nguyen review the pluses and minuses of all the new hot wearable fitness trackers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026

The net effect of these pluses and minuses is unknown.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 2, 2026

Compass’s scale and differentiated strategy for marketing listings are also pluses, he says.

From Barron's ● Mar. 26, 2026

There are a number of pluses to a potential purchase, he argued, including avocado toast, tech dominance and Disneyland — though the latter would be renamed Hans Christian Andersenland, after the Danish author.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 13, 2025

Mr. Ibis pushed his lower lip upward, then let his head bob from side to side, as if it were on a spring, weighing the pluses and minuses, seeing things from both points of view.

From "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman

They ensured Pakistan did not kick on from their platform and, along with Brook, were the other major plusses for England.

From BBC ● Feb. 24, 2026

As with the previous downward trend, there are plusses and minuses, namely higher production values per episode at the cost of time spent with the characters.

From Salon ● Apr. 27, 2022

But the plusses are not enough to merit the support of Dennis McFadden, a Los Angeles architect and a member of UC Santa Barbara’s design review committee for more than a decade.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 1, 2021

It was a bold and controversial decision that reflected optimism about doing business in China, as well as a willingness to weigh plusses and minuses.

From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2021

But there were the plusses for working in a fresh new paper too.

From Behind the News: Voices from Goa's Press by Various

Related Words

• excess
• extra