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

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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”

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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 Gallup poll of 1,200 adults was conducted between October 1-19 and has a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points.

From Barron's ● Nov. 10, 2026

On the plus side, the truck has four-wheel drive and a bed that can carry up to 600 pounds.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 10, 2026

These are bound to feed into the thinking of Ratcliffe, the Glazers, Berrada and Wilcox as they consider the future - plus the attractiveness of potential replacements.

From BBC ● Nov. 8, 2026

The Austin-based technology company offered four weeks of base pay plus one week of pay for every year of service, capped at 26 weeks.

From MarketWatch ● Nov. 6, 2026

Baba bought us a fresh tub of sidewalk chalk last time we went to the grocery store, plus there’s an extra bucket of broken pieces we’ve collected over the years in the garage.

From "Zara’s Rules for Record-Breaking Fun" by Hena Khan

Beautifully shot and sonically pleasing are its biggest pluses.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

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

From Barron's ● Mar. 26, 2026

When minuses exceed pluses, up to $3,000 in losses can be deducted from taxable income.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 27, 2025

The pluses are multiple for head coach Steve Borthwick.

From BBC ● Mar. 9, 2025

“Technology is here to stay. Like any revolution, there are pluses and minuses. We need to harness that power to our advantage.”

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel

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

But ultimately, he says, “The plusses do not exceed the minuses of relocation.”

From Slate ● Jun. 1, 2022

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

We'll be discussing each of the formatting decisions below, not only giving the summary PG answer, but also discussing the plusses and minuses of each, and the possible options.

From The Project Gutenberg FAQ 2002 by Jim Tinsley

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Related Words

• excess
• extra

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