minus
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mi·nus | \ ˈmī-nəs 
\
\Definition of minus
(Entry 1 of 3)
minus
nounDefinition of minus (Entry 2 of 3)
1 : a negative quantity
minus
adjectiveDefinition of minus (Entry 3 of 3)
1 : algebraically negative
a minus quantity minus ten degrees
2 : having a negative quality
3 : relating to or being a particular one of the two mating types that are required for successful fertilization in sexual reproduction in some lower plants (such as a fungus)
4 : falling low in a specified range
B minus
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Synonyms & Antonyms for minus
Synonyms: Preposition
Synonyms: Noun
- debit,
- disadvantage,
- disbenefit,
- downside,
- drawback,
- handicap,
- incommodity,
- liability,
- negative,
- strike
Antonyms: Noun
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Examples of minus in a Sentence
Preposition
He left the restaurant minus his hat.
a fruit that looks like a peach, minus the fuzz Noun
She decided that the pluses of owning a home outweighed the minuses.
Some employers see a lack of experience as a real minus.
Put the minus to the left of the number.
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Recent Examples on the Web: Preposition The uniform consists of khaki pants and a coordinating blouse with a brown t-shirt underneath, with the blouse tucked in and buttoned (minus the top button) at all times.
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Ale Russian, PEOPLE.com, "Felicity Huffman's Life in Prison: From 5 a.m. Wake Up Calls to Weekend Family Visits," 16 Oct. 2019 Both ways of writing the function involve infinite series of terms; their equivalence means that the first infinite series minus the second equals zero.
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Quanta Magazine, "Physicists Uncover Geometric ‘Theory Space’," 23 Feb. 2017 Temperature at kickoff was minus 13 with wind chills between minus 36 and minus 48.
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Meg Jones, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "These are the 15 coldest Packer games ever played at Lambeau Field," 13 Dec. 2019 Both corners of the eyes are full of glittery smidgins and the rest of the face (minus the lips) are set for a natural look.
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Emy Rodriguez Flores, Redbook, "15 Beauty Looks to Wear For New Year's Eve," 9 Dec. 2019 Local tour operators began designing ski safaris, multi-resort ski days combined with rifugio stays, so tourists could experience maximum terrain minus the organizational hassle.
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Amy Tara Koch, New York Times, "Hut Skiing in the Dolomites: Storybook Scenery and Grappa Included," 25 Nov. 2019 Unlike last week’s game at the center of the college football universe, this one will kick on a cold Starkville morning minus the buzz.
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Michael Casagrande | Mcasagrande@al.com, al, "What to watch in Alabama-Mississippi State game," 15 Nov. 2019 Her secret: Browning the giblets (minus the liver, which will make your gravy taste bitter) and the turkey wings before making a long-simmering broth.
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oregonlive, "13 Thanksgiving gravy recipes, including ones to make-ahead, that use pan drippings," 24 Nov. 2019 Antonio, now minus his facial disguise, wears a cape and sombrero.
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Elaine Ayala, ExpressNews.com, "SAC’s Zorro-like mascot, masked or unmasked, doesn’t help its troubling history," 23 Nov. 2019 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Click to Read Story Investing in Funds Here are some solutions being offered, along with their pluses and minuses.
1.
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Bailey Mccann, WSJ, "More Companies Help Employees With ‘Financial Wellness’ Plans," 10 Feb. 2020 Read blogs of persons who have different perspectives about the pluses and minuses of various pieces of legislation.
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al, "United Methodist bishop sets meetings to talk about possible split," 4 Feb. 2020 Others, like Leviton’s Load Center (price range: $200–$1,500) have come before, but there are pluses and minuses.
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Matthew De Silva, Quartz, "Here’s a smarter way to save money and energy in your home," 21 Jan. 2020 Tuesday’s high is expected to be near 5 degrees, with a low of minus 12.
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Caitlin Anderson, Twin Cities, "Twin Cities could see up to half a foot of snow for Monday morning commute, then an Arctic blast," 7 Dec. 2019 The people of Hartlepool are not alone: An Ipsos/MORI poll in September found Corbyn to be the least popular opposition leader of the last 45 years with a net satisfaction rating of minus 60.
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NBC News, "In Brexit Britain, Labour Party risks losing its 'Red Wall' industrial heartlands," 6 Dec. 2019 Before the 2010 election, which took place in the aftermath of the financial crisis and saw a Conservative Party bent on austerity take power from Labour, the index was at minus 16.
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David Goodman, Bloomberg.com, "U.K. Consumer Confidence Lowest Heading Into Election Since 2010," 29 Nov. 2019 The category of head coaches received a grade of A-minus, and the professional team staff category received a B-plus grade.
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Steve Reed, courant.com, "Report: WNBA receives high grades again in diversity hiring," 17 Oct. 2019 Last night's launch from Boca Chica, Texas, was abandoned at T-minus 0.8 seconds, according to SpaceX's livestream.
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Jennifer Leman, Popular Mechanics, "SpaceX's Starhopper Successfully Completes Final Test Flight," 27 Aug. 2019 Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective The average temperature is minus ten degrees; heavy mist, strong winds and blizzards are not uncommon.
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The Economist, "Chilling sounds At a music festival in Norway, the instruments are made from ice," 11 Feb. 2020 Overnight Thursday, there’s a 50% chance of snow with the temperature dropping to minus 2 degrees.
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Kieran Nicholson, The Know, "Upcoming snowstorm will temporarily close Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park," 9 Oct. 2019 As of Saturday, Fairbanks had reached temperatures colder than minus 30 for nine straight days.
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Marc Lester, Anchorage Daily News, "So negative, yet so positive: At nearly 40 below zero, Fairbanks knows how to chill," 11 Jan. 2020 The coldest Christmas in Milwaukee happened the following year when the mercury dropped to minus 12 in 1983; Madison's coldest was minus 21 set in 2000.
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Meg Jones, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "It's forecast to be Milwaukee's warmest Christmas since 1994," 24 Dec. 2019 Big Piney, Wyoming, plunged to minus 24 degrees before sunrise Wednesday.
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Doyle Rice, USA TODAY, "Minus 45 degrees in October? An Arctic blast is breaking records across western and central US," 30 Oct. 2019 Michigan’s winters are more mild — compare St. Paul’s record cold of minus 41 degrees to Detroit’s minus 13.
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Bob Shaw, Twin Cities, "Aggressive action in Minnesota slowing spread of tree-killing beetle," 9 Dec. 2019 Bouknight’s wild miss on a flying dunk attempted late in the game, along with the plus/minus numbers — all reserves but Brendan Adams were on the minus side — indicated this was not a night for the bench.
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Dom Amore, courant.com, "Josh Carlton answers the call, experienced UConn men’s players take over and other takeaways from a win over Iona," 5 Dec. 2019 Nevertheless, her popularity is in the doldrums, with her net approval rate at minus 71 points, according to polling by the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute.
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James Griffiths, CNN, "Xi Jinping's message to Hong Kong: You're stuck with Carrie Lam," 5 Nov. 2019
See MoreThese example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'minus.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for minus
minus
prepositionEnglish Language Learners Definition of minus
(Entry 1 of 3)
—used to indicate that one number or amount is being subtracted from another
informal : not having (something)
minus
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of minus (Entry 2 of 3)
informal : a problem or disadvantage
minus
adjectiveEnglish Language Learners Definition of minus (Entry 3 of 3)
: having a value that is below zero
See the full definition for minus in the English Language Learners Dictionary
minus
prepositionmi·nus | \ ˈmī-nəs \
\Kids Definition of minus
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 : with the subtraction of : less 7 minus 4 is 3.
2 : without entry 1 sense 2 I went outside minus my hat.
minus
adjectiveKids Definition of minus (Entry 2 of 2)
1 : having a value that is below zero
The temperature was minus 15.
2 : located in the lower part of a range
a grade of C minus
minus
adjectivemi·nus | \ ˈmī-nəs \
\Medical Definition of minus
: relating to or being one of the two mating types required for successful fertilization in sexual reproduction in some lower plants (as a fungus) — compare plus
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Time Traveler for minus
The first known use of minus was in the 15th century
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