1
a
: great in quantity, amount, extent, or degree
there is much truth in what you say
taken too much time
b
: great in importance or significance
nothing much happened
2
obsolete
: many in number
3
: more than is expected or acceptable : more than enough
the large pizza is a bit much for one person
more; most
1
a(1)
: to a great degree or extent : considerably
much happier
(2)
: very
much gratified
b(1)
: frequently, often
(2)
: by or for a long time
didn't get to work much before noon
c
: by far
was much the brightest student
2
: nearly, approximately
looks much the way his father did
1
: a great quantity, amount, extent, or degree
She gave away much of what she owned
2
: something considerable or impressive
was not much to look at
Synonyms
Adjective
- big
- consequential
- earth-shattering
- earthshaking
- eventful
- historic
- important
- major
- material
- meaningful
- momentous
- monumental
- significant
- substantial
- tectonic
- weighty
Adverb
- achingly
- almighty
- archly
- awful
- awfully
- badly
- beastly
- blisteringly
- bone
- colossally
- corking
- cracking
- damn
- damned
- dang
- deadly
- desperately
- eminently
- enormously
- especially
- ever
- exceedingly
- exceeding
- extra
- extremely
- fabulously
- fantastically
- far
- fiercely
- filthy
- frightfully
- full
- greatly
- heavily
- highly
- hugely
- immensely
- incredibly
- intensely
- jolly
- majorly
- mightily
- mighty
- monstrous [chiefly dialect]
- mortally
- most
- particularly
- passing
- rattling
- real
- really
- right
- roaring
- roaringly
- seriously
- severely
- so
- sore
- sorely
- spanking
- specially
- stinking
- such
- super
- supremely
- surpassingly
- terribly
- that
- thumping
- too
- unco
- uncommonly
- vastly
- very
- vitally
- way
- whacking
- wicked
- wildly
Noun
- abundance
- barrel
- basketful
- boatload
- bucket
- bunch
- bundle
- bushel
- carload
- chunk
- deal
- dozen
- fistful
- gobs
- good deal
- heap
- hundred
- lashings [chiefly British]
- lashins
- loads
- lot
- mass
- mess
- mountain
- multiplicity
- myriad
- oodles
- pack
- passel
- peck
- pile
- plateful
- plenitude
- plentitude
- plenty
- pot
- potful
- profusion
- quantity
- raft
- reams
- scads
- sheaf
- shipload
- sight
- slew
- spate
- stack
- store
- ton
- truckload
- volume
- wad
- wealth
- yard
Examples of much in a Sentence
Adverb
The new car is much better on gas mileage.
They both talk too much.
Thank you so much for your help.
He is much interested in the project.
They were much pleased by the compliment.
She doesn't visit her family much.
The town looks much the same.
We came to much the same conclusion.
We left the house much as we found it.
Noun
much of what people think they know about words is inaccurate or downright false
Recent Examples on the Web
Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 22 Apr. 2024
In an attempt to cover too much historic and biographical ground, there are seemingly dozens of short scenes, some just a few lines long, so script feels unnecessarily choppy.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Apr. 2024
One motto in the baby-led-weaning world is that the parents decide what the child eats—no short-order cooking, hustling to mix pancakes because your toddler rejected his eggs—and the child decides how much.
—Olaf Blecker, The New Yorker, 22 Apr. 2024
How much was the Powerball lottery jackpot for Monday, April 22?
—Steven Martinez, Journal Sentinel, 22 Apr. 2024
The payout amount is contingent on how much the premiums were that the policyholder pays during their lifetime.
—Jasmine Browley, Essence, 22 Apr. 2024
And much of this content hails the shooters as these heroes or anti-heroes who are striking back against bullies.
—Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 22 Apr. 2024
Even with the Heat outscoring the Celtics 44-24 in the paint, a 30-point deficit from deep was too much for Miami to overcome.
—Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 21 Apr. 2024
The Nuggets would press and press against the Lakers until, eventually, the pressure would be too much and things would crumble.
—Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times, 21 Apr. 2024
The Enquirer, 23 Apr. 2024
Protecting civilians in war is much harder when one of the belligerents is a nonstate actor.
—Oona A. Hathaway, Foreign Affairs, 23 Apr. 2024
The Near Southside area studied, however, was more than nine times larger, more than 778 acres, and included both the Magnolia and South Main entertainment districts as well as much more of the neighborhood that does not attract partygoers.
—Cody Copeland, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 Apr. 2024
But here because there are some allegations that Trump might've violated the gag order in the case by going after witnesses on his social media site Truth Social, prosecutors have been much more resistant to handing over those witness names.
—Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 23 Apr. 2024
The fifth generation of the nameplate, produced between 1997 and 2004, has a shapely design that’s aged much better than its immediate predecessor.
—Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 23 Apr. 2024
Pilot studies have indeed shown great promise: For example, with A.I. assistance, 24-hour video surveillance can help pinpoint sick or injured animals much more quickly so they can be pulled out for veterinary care.
—Bill Wasik and Monica Murphy Gabra Zackman Emma Kehlbeck Lance Neal, New York Times, 23 Apr. 2024
Critics of the new, 8-foot tall D-E-T-R-O-I-T sign, which recently went up, might note that the tire is much bigger.
—Frank Witsil, Detroit Free Press, 22 Apr. 2024
But climate change has made growing taro for his family and community much more difficult.
—Li Cohen, CBS News, 11 Apr. 2024
Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 23 Feb. 2024
The second-place Giants didn’t do much, but entered Wednesday only 2½ games back.
—Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 3 Aug. 2023
One brick doesn’t do much, but a thousand bricks can build a foundation.
—Kristen Hartke, Washington Post, 9 May 2023
Adjective
What always seems to work wonders for feeling like a hair refresh without too much commitment?
—Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 22 Apr. 2024
In an attempt to cover too much historic and biographical ground, there are seemingly dozens of short scenes, some just a few lines long, so script feels unnecessarily choppy.
—Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Apr. 2024
One motto in the baby-led-weaning world is that the parents decide what the child eats—no short-order cooking, hustling to mix pancakes because your toddler rejected his eggs—and the child decides how much.
—Olaf Blecker, The New Yorker, 22 Apr. 2024
How much was the Powerball lottery jackpot for Monday, April 22?
—Steven Martinez, Journal Sentinel, 22 Apr. 2024
The payout amount is contingent on how much the premiums were that the policyholder pays during their lifetime.
—Jasmine Browley, Essence, 22 Apr. 2024
And much of this content hails the shooters as these heroes or anti-heroes who are striking back against bullies.
—Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 22 Apr. 2024
Even with the Heat outscoring the Celtics 44-24 in the paint, a 30-point deficit from deep was too much for Miami to overcome.
—Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 21 Apr. 2024
The Nuggets would press and press against the Lakers until, eventually, the pressure would be too much and things would crumble.
—Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times, 21 Apr. 2024
Adverb
Lost & Found is much more of a hip, artsy cocktail bar than a father-daughter destination, but the sandwich hits all the right notes.
—The Enquirer, 23 Apr. 2024
Protecting civilians in war is much harder when one of the belligerents is a nonstate actor.
—Oona A. Hathaway, Foreign Affairs, 23 Apr. 2024
The Near Southside area studied, however, was more than nine times larger, more than 778 acres, and included both the Magnolia and South Main entertainment districts as well as much more of the neighborhood that does not attract partygoers.
—Cody Copeland, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 23 Apr. 2024
But here because there are some allegations that Trump might've violated the gag order in the case by going after witnesses on his social media site Truth Social, prosecutors have been much more resistant to handing over those witness names.
—Taylor Wilson, USA TODAY, 23 Apr. 2024
The fifth generation of the nameplate, produced between 1997 and 2004, has a shapely design that’s aged much better than its immediate predecessor.
—Bryan Hood, Robb Report, 23 Apr. 2024
Pilot studies have indeed shown great promise: For example, with A.I. assistance, 24-hour video surveillance can help pinpoint sick or injured animals much more quickly so they can be pulled out for veterinary care.
—Bill Wasik and Monica Murphy Gabra Zackman Emma Kehlbeck Lance Neal, New York Times, 23 Apr. 2024
Critics of the new, 8-foot tall D-E-T-R-O-I-T sign, which recently went up, might note that the tire is much bigger.
—Frank Witsil, Detroit Free Press, 22 Apr. 2024
But climate change has made growing taro for his family and community much more difficult.
—Li Cohen, CBS News, 11 Apr. 2024
Noun
Ji-Young doesn’t have to do much, and all those moments are there.
—Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 23 Feb. 2024
The second-place Giants didn’t do much, but entered Wednesday only 2½ games back.
—Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 3 Aug. 2023
One brick doesn’t do much, but a thousand bricks can build a foundation.
—Kristen Hartke, Washington Post, 9 May 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'much.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near much
Cite this Entry
“Much.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/much. Accessed 26 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
much
3 of 3 noun1
: a great quantity, amount, extent, or part
much that was said is false
2
: something important or impressive
not much to look at
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