- less
- [[t]le̱s[/t]]
♦(Less is often considered to be the comparative form of little.)1) DET: DET n-uncount You use less to indicate that there is a smaller amount of something than before or than average. You can use `a little', `a lot', `a bit', `far', and `much' in front of less.
People should eat less fat to reduce the risk of heart disease.
...a dishwasher that uses less water and electricity than older machines...
Children of very low ability should not be permitted to pay less attention to the sciences.
Ant:PRONLess is also a pronoun.Borrowers are striving to ease their financial position by spending less and saving more.
QUANT: QUANT of def-n-uncount/singLess is also a quantifier.Last year less of the money went into high-technology companies... The other option would be for me to own less of the house but that would be stupid.
2) PHR-PREP: PREP amount You use less than before a number or amount to say that the actual number or amount is smaller than this.Motorways actually cover less than 0.1 percent of the countryside...
Less than a half hour later he returned upstairs.
3) ADV-COMPAR: ADV adj/adv, ADV of a n You use less to indicate that something or someone has a smaller amount of a quality than they used to or than is average or usual.I often think about those less fortunate than me...
Other amenities, less commonly available, include a library and exercise room...
Poverty is less of a problem now than it used to be.
Ant:4) ADV-COMPAR: ADV group than group/cl If you say that something is less one thing than another, you mean that it is like the second thing rather than the first.At first sight it looked less like a capital city than a mining camp...
Trades union leadership in those days was less a career than a vocation.
5) ADV-COMPAR: ADV with v If you do something less than before or less than someone else, you do it to a smaller extent or not as often.We are eating more and exercising less...
I see less of any of my friends than I used to.
Ant:6) PHR-CONJ-COORD (emphasis) You use the expressions still less, much less, and even less after a negative statement in order to introduce and emphasize a further statement, and to make it negative too. [FORMAL]I never talked about it, still less about her...
The boy didn't have a girlfriend, much less a wife.
7) PREP When you are referring to amounts, you use less in front of a number or quantity to indicate that it is to be subtracted from another number or quantity already mentioned....Boyton Financial Services Fees: ₤750, less ₤400...
Company car drivers will pay between ten and twenty five percent, less tax.
Syn:Ant:8) PHRASE: usu PHR group/cl, PHR with v You use less and less to say that something is becoming smaller all the time in degree or amount.The couple seem to spend less and less time together...
She sounded less and less eager to return to Ireland...
Many basic goods are now rationed. Less and less is available.
Ant:more and more9) PHRASE: PHR adj/adv (emphasis) You use less than to say that something does not have a particular quality. For example, if you describe something as less than perfect, you mean that it is not perfect at all.Her greeting was less than enthusiastic...
Her advice has frequently been less than wholly helpful.
Ant:more than10) PHRASE: cl/group PHR (emphasis) You can use no less as a way of expressing surprise or admiration at the importance of something or someone.He had returned to England in an aircraft carrier no less...
Who wrote the screenplay from Patricia Highsmith's book? Raymond Chandler, no less.
11) PHRASE: PHR amount (emphasis) You use no less than before an amount to indicate that the amount is larger than you expected.No less than 35 per cent of the country is protected in the form of parks and nature sanctuaries...
He is lined up for no less than four US television interviews.
Syn:as many as
English dictionary. 2008.
