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The world belongs to people with IQs of 120. Anything much greater or less amounts to a liability.
Rick Bayan

Meaning of "less" in the English dictionary

Dictionary
DICTIONARY
section

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD LESS

Old English lǣssa (adj), lǣs (adv, n).
info
Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.
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PRONUNCIATION OF LESS

less  [lɛs] play
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GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF LESS

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation
Less can act as an adverb, a preposition and a determiner.
The adverb is an invariable part of the sentence that can change, explain or simplify a verb or another adverb.

The preposition is an invariable grammatical category, that has no meaning itself and which serves to link or relate terms.

The determinant is a modifier that provides context to the noun, often in terms of quantity and possession.

WHAT DOES LESS MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Less

Less may refer to: ▪ Less, a band from the San Francisco bay area ▪ LESS, a dynamic stylesheet language ▪ less, a Unix utility program ▪ Lunar Escape Systems, a series of proposed emergency spacecraft for the Apollo Program ▪ Less., the author abbreviation for Christian Friedrich Lessing, German botanist...

Definition of less in the English dictionary

The first definition of less in the dictionary is lower in rank or importance. Other definition of less is the comparative of little. Less is also subtracting; minus.

WORDS THAT BEGIN LIKE LESS

lespedeza
less of
lessee
lesseeship
lessen
lessening
Lesseps
lesser
lesser anteater
lesser Antillean iguana
Lesser Antilles
lesser celandine
lesser koodoo
lesser kudu
lesser panda
lesser periwinkle
lesser scaup
lesser spearwort
lesser spotted dogfish
lesser spotted woodpecker

WORDS THAT END LIKE LESS

bottomless
business
cocktail dress
congress
dress
express
fitness
guess
in the wilderness
much less
press
princess
process
progress
stainless
stress
success
unless
wellness
wireless

Synonyms and antonyms of less in the English dictionary of synonyms

SYNONYMS

SYNONYMS OF «LESS»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «less» and belong to the same grammatical category.
synonyms of less

Translation of «less» into 25 languages

TRANSLATOR
online translator

TRANSLATION OF LESS

Find out the translation of less to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.
The translations of less from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «less» in English.

Translator English - Chinese

较少地
1,325 millions of speakers

Translator English - Spanish

menos
570 millions of speakers

English

less
510 millions of speakers

Translator English - Hindi

कम
380 millions of speakers
ar

Translator English - Arabic

أَقَلُ
280 millions of speakers

Translator English - Russian

меньше
278 millions of speakers

Translator English - Portuguese

menos
270 millions of speakers

Translator English - Bengali

কম
260 millions of speakers

Translator English - French

moins
220 millions of speakers

Translator English - Malay

Kurang
190 millions of speakers

Translator English - German

weniger
180 millions of speakers

Translator English - Japanese

少なく
130 millions of speakers

Translator English - Korean

더 적은
85 millions of speakers

Translator English - Javanese

Kurang
85 millions of speakers
vi

Translator English - Vietnamese

ở mức ít hơn
80 millions of speakers

Translator English - Tamil

குறைவான
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Marathi

कमी
75 millions of speakers

Translator English - Turkish

az
70 millions of speakers

Translator English - Italian

meno
65 millions of speakers

Translator English - Polish

bez
50 millions of speakers

Translator English - Ukrainian

менший
40 millions of speakers

Translator English - Romanian

mai ușor
30 millions of speakers
el

Translator English - Greek

λιγότερο
15 millions of speakers
af

Translator English - Afrikaans

minder
14 millions of speakers
sv

Translator English - Swedish

mindre
10 millions of speakers
no

Translator English - Norwegian

mindre
5 millions of speakers

Trends of use of less

TRENDS

TENDENCIES OF USE OF THE TERM «LESS»

The term «less» is very widely used and occupies the 656 position in our list of most widely used terms in the English dictionary.
0
100%
FREQUENCY
Very widely used
98
/100
The map shown above gives the frequency of use of the term «less» in the different countries.
Principal search tendencies and common uses of less
List of principal searches undertaken by users to access our English online dictionary and most widely used expressions with the word «less».

FREQUENCY OF USE OF THE TERM «LESS» OVER TIME

The graph expresses the annual evolution of the frequency of use of the word «less» during the past 500 years. Its implementation is based on analysing how often the term «less» appears in digitalised printed sources in English between the year 1500 and the present day.

Examples of use in the English literature, quotes and news about less

EXAMPLES

10 QUOTES WITH «LESS»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word less.
1
Gary Allan
I try never to focus on the radio, just find great songs, find emotion and just write the best songs you can. I think when you get fixated on trying to do something too accurate, it becomes more washed out and less what you intended it to be. So I think each time the challenge for me is to try and reinvent a little bit.
2
Mark Barrowcliffe
Let me start with a confession: I don't enjoy cooking. The reason I usually do it at home is not because I'm a New Man or Jamie Oliver disciple, but because my wife's cooking is so bad. In fact, to me, cooking is less a pleasurable pastime than a defense against poisoning.
3
Rick Bayan
The world belongs to people with IQs of 120. Anything much greater or less amounts to a liability.
4
Amber Benson
I think people are starting to think of me less as an actor and more as a writer.
5
Jeffrey Bewkes
The reason people talk about cable cutting is they imagine the price burden will get so high that people won't be able to pay it. They're missing something: that the actual price of the electronic package is going down. They've got their Internet, phone, TV, all of it. Now people are using more and more stuff for less.
6
William J. Brennan, Jr.
Death is not only an unusually severe punishment, unusual in its pain, in its finality and in its enormity, but is serves no penal purpose more effectively than a less severe punishment.
7
Blair Brown
I'm less of a 'Star Wars' fan, with googley monsters, than actually how do we bend this reality out, and how many other realities exist?
8
Deborah Bull
As you get older, the physical abilities decrease, which is particularly frustrating because your brain gets so good! So as you are becoming less technically or physically able, younger dancers are emerging who need the space to perform.
9
Candace Cameron Bure
We turn off the TV, video games and computer - except for homework - during the week. The TV's reserved for Friday night, Saturday and Sunday just because that's the time to do homework, and it makes it that much less chaotic in our house.
10
J. M. Coetzee
There is nothing more inimical to writing than the spirit of fundamentalism. Fundamentalism abhors the play of signs, the endlessness of writing. Fundamentalism means nothing more or less than going back to an origin and staying there. It stands for one founding book and, thereafter, no more books.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «LESS»

Discover the use of less in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to less and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.
1
Less: Accomplishing More by Doing Less
Less is about stopping, about the possibility of finding composure in the midst of activity.
Marc Lesser, 2010
2
More Guns, Less Crime: Understanding Crime and Gun Control ...
For this third edition, Lott draws on an additional ten years of data—including provocative analysis of the effects of gun bans in Chicago and Washington, D.C—that brings the book fully up to date and further bolsters its central ...
John R. Lott, 2013
3
Runner's World Run Less, Run Faster, Revised Edition: Become ...
Advises on how to run faster by running less, providing a variety of training programs tailored to qualifying times for the Boston Marathon and an overview of the 3PLUS2 program aimed at improving endurance.
Bill Pierce, Scott Murr, Ray Moss, 2012
4
One Less Fish
The Great Barrier Reef and its fragile ecology provides the background for this counting book.
Kim Michelle Toft, Allan Sheather, 1997
5
Less Than Nothing: Hegel and the Shadow of Dialectical ...
Slavoj Žižek’s masterwork on the Hegelian legacy.
Slavoj Zizek, Slavoj Žižek, 2012
6
Marijuana Buds for Less: Grow 8 Oz. of Bud for Less Than $100
Marijuana Buds for Less walks gardeners through the entire process and, unlike other guides which emphasise costly equipment, it uses household fluorescent bulbs and other readily available supplies.
SeeMoreBuds, 2007
7
Less Than Nothing: Hegel and the Shadow of Dialectical ...
Modernity will begin and end with Hegel. From the Trade Paperback edition.
Slavoj Zizek, 2012
8
Toilet Training in Less Than a Day
Two psychologists utilize the modern principles of learning in an innovative program designed to toilet train children of over twenty months of age in as little as four hours. Reissue.
Nathan Azrin, Richard M. Foxx, 1989
9
Seven Seconds Or Less: My Season on the Bench with the ...
An award-winning Sports Illustrated writer recounts the championship 2005-2006 season with the popular NBA team, describing their revitalization of team play strategies, the contributions of such figures as Steve Nash and Mike D'Antoni, and ...
Jack McCallum, 2007
10
A Life Less Anxious: Freedom from Panic Attacks and Social ...
I discuss why I had several severe relapses with my progress, and how you can avoid the same pitfalls. Some of the highlights of the book include: Education - Explanations of what anxiety is, and how it affects your body and mind.
Steve Pavilanis, 2009

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «LESS»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term less is used in the context of the following news items.
1
Sci-fi Sundays: Body-Swapping with Seconds, Self/less, and …
Last week, I got very angry at the nearly-universally-panned Tarsem Singh film Self/less for squandering a good science fiction premise in a ... «The Verge, Jul 15»
2
Big Blue Becomes Less So - WSJ
But investors willing to pay sometimes silly prices for companies specializing in any of Ms. Rometty's priorities, much less all five under one roof ... «Wall Street Journal, Jul 15»
3
Suvery: US Companies Less Optimistic About Future Sales - ABC …
U.S. businesses' outlook on sales in the coming months has darkened after sales growth slowed in the second quarter, according to a survey ... «ABC News, Jul 15»
4
'Ant-Man' Strong, but Less Than a Marvel - WSJ
'Ant-Man' Strong, but Less Than a Marvel. Box-office debut brings in $58 million; Schumer's 'Trainwreck' is No. 2 at $30.2 million. Watch a film ... «Wall Street Journal, Jul 15»
5
US chiefs less upbeat on expansion than overseas peers - FT.com
US chief executives are much less confident about growth and the global economy than counterparts in Europe and Asia, according to a survey ... «Financial Times, Jul 15»
6
Mom Works With Chef To Create Ice Cream With Less Sugar …
"He said, 'You should make an ice cream for supermarkets but I really think you should do something that has less sugar," Patrick remembers. «Hartford Courant, Jul 15»
7
AGL Energy Offers 7.2kWh Battery Storage For Less Than $10,000
Electricity retailing giant AGL Energy has taken the industry by surprise by offering 7.2kWh battery storage systems at under less than $10,000 ... «CleanTechnica, Jul 15»
8
Future's new album art is from Shutterstock, the artist made less than …
Popular rapper Future released his latest album, Dirty Sprite 2, a few days ago, and the investigative reporters at The Fader noticed something ... «A.V. Club, Jul 15»
9
2015 British Open weather forecast: Less wind but more rain coming …
Winds will be less on Sunday and Monday but there will be areas of showers on both days. Overall, I don't see a reason why there should be ... «SB Nation, Jul 15»
10
LETTER: Vavi must take road less travelled | Letters | BDlive
Like Robert Frost's proverbial roads diverging in a wood, he must choose the path less travelled. For Mr Vavi, it is a hard choice between ... «BDlive, Jul 15»

REFERENCE
« EDUCALINGO. Less [online]. Available <https://educalingo.com/en/dic-en/less>. Apr 2024 ».
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