as in approximately
close to but not exactly
I have plus or minus five dollars in change
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Recent Examples of plus or minus
The margin of error was plus or minus 3%, with a 95% confidence interval.
—
Emily Dreibelbis, PCMAG, 9 Feb. 2023
The Post-ABC poll was conducted Jan. 27 through Feb. 1, 2023, among a random national sample of 1,003 adults and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points among the full sample and a larger error margin among subgroups.
—Scott Clement, BostonGlobe.com, 6 Feb. 2023
The Post-ABC poll was conducted Jan. 27 through Feb. 1, 2023, among a random national sample of 1,003 adults and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points among the full sample and a larger error margin among subgroups.
—Scott Clement, Washington Post, 3 Feb. 2023
For the third quarter, the company guided for revenue of $2 billion, plus or minus $150 million.
—Kathryn Hardison, WSJ, 26 Jan. 2023
See All Example Sentences for plus or minus
Emily Dreibelbis, PCMAG, 9 Feb. 2023
The Post-ABC poll was conducted Jan. 27 through Feb. 1, 2023, among a random national sample of 1,003 adults and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points among the full sample and a larger error margin among subgroups.
—Scott Clement, BostonGlobe.com, 6 Feb. 2023
The Post-ABC poll was conducted Jan. 27 through Feb. 1, 2023, among a random national sample of 1,003 adults and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points among the full sample and a larger error margin among subgroups.
—Scott Clement, Washington Post, 3 Feb. 2023
For the third quarter, the company guided for revenue of $2 billion, plus or minus $150 million.
—Kathryn Hardison, WSJ, 26 Jan. 2023
See All Example Sentences for plus or minus
Recent Examples of Synonyms for plus or minus
Adverb
-
Of the approximately 28,000 people on the program, 12,000 to 16,000 would lose coverage.—
Anthony Man,
Sun Sentinel,
21 Mar. 2026
-
Hydrogen sulfide, or H2S, levels in the Nestor neighborhood reached approximately 557 parts per billion on Friday as of this report — nearly 18 times the San Diego County Air Pollution Control District’s unsafe exposure threshold of 30 parts per billion, according to APCD monitoring data.—
Walker Armstrong,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
21 Mar. 2026
Adverb
-
The agency said the facility contained about 440 pounds of highly reactive chemicals.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
21 Mar. 2026
-
The Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and much of the Iranian security hierarchy, would not survive the first day of bombing; neither would about a hundred and seventy-five innocents in the southern city of Minab, most of them children.—
David Remnick,
New Yorker,
21 Mar. 2026
Adverb
-
The prototype combines a pump, valves, and a microfluidic chip into a device roughly the size and weight of a smartphone.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
21 Mar. 2026
-
Brent crude oil, the international standard, has soared during the fighting and was around $108 per barrel, up from roughly $70 before the war.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
21 Mar. 2026
Adverb
-
But for the second year in a row, Jeanie’s not around to blow out birthday candles or make a birthday wish.—
Meghan O'Brien,
NBC news,
23 Mar. 2026
-
The pilot and copilot were killed in the late Sunday night collision, which crushed the nose of the aircraft, while around 40 passengers and crew members were taken to area hospitals, some with serious injuries.—
Jake Offenhartz,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Plus or minus.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plus%20or%20minus. Accessed 25 Mar. 2026.
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