mi·nus
ˈmī-nəs 
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
Synonyms
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.
Recent Examples on the Web
Liz Weston, Los Angeles Times, 21 Apr. 2024
Schultz is looking ahead to the next part of his career, which could look very similar to the previous part, just minus his mother.
—Thomas Gounley, The Denver Post, 16 Apr. 2024
Cameron Brink had no fouls in the first half but fouled out with 8:10 remaining, and Stanford couldn’t get within single digits minus the Pac-12 Player of the Year.
—Jeff Metcalfe, The Mercury News, 2 Apr. 2024
The formula for her virality looked something like this: brutally honest observations divided by deadpan delivery plus beauty products minus the fluffy commentary that usually goes with them.
—Dianna Mazzone Singh, Allure, 2 Apr. 2024
Tall tales about aid deliveries, minus the truth about Hamas thefts and Jewish hostages starving.
—Ruth Marks Eglash, Fox News, 28 Mar. 2024
Should Tesla only manage a low single digit increase over Q1 of 2023, Tesla risks becoming a growth stock minus the growth—a toxic combination that could result in severe multiple compression as fewer investors are willing to pay 60 times earnings to own a company mired in stagnation.
—Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 23 Mar. 2024
The Bank of Japan’s target policy rate was raised to a range of zero to 0.1 percent from minus 0.1 percent.
—Joe Rennison, New York Times, 19 Mar. 2024
The mercury plummeted to minus 3 with a wind chill of minus 25 at halftime of the contest played at Arrowhead Stadium.
—David K. Li, NBC News, 8 Mar. 2024
Khobi Price, Orange County Register, 28 Jan. 2024
Dinwiddie’s actually led the Lakers in plus/minus since joining the team.
—Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2024
Click the plus to zoom in, and the minus button to zoom out.
—Scooty Nickerson, The Mercury News, 1 Mar. 2024
Still, Rozier did post the third-worst defensive estimated plus/minus among Hornets players this season and his point-of-attack defense will be an area to monitor.
—Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 24 Jan. 2024
The biggest minus to not shadowing Diggs is the Dolphins losing the AFC East title and having to make a trip to Kansas City for a first-round playoff game.
—Chris Perkins, Sun Sentinel, 4 Jan. 2024
Psychological knowledge can aid competitive performance under pressure, help evaluate the benefit of pursuing perfection and assess the pluses and minuses of high self-confidence.
—Tom Siegfried, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Feb. 2024
Adebayo also ranks first on the Heat in advanced metrics like defensive win shares and defensive estimated plus/minus.
—Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 2 Feb. 2024
Offensively, the Ravens have had their ups and downs, but more pluses than minuses.
—Mike Preston, Baltimore Sun, 26 Jan. 2024
Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 11 Apr. 2024
That supported expectations that the Bank of Japan may soon make a shift in its longstanding ultra-lax monetary policy, which is underpinned by a minus 0.1% benchmark interest rate.
—Elaine Kurtenbach, Quartz, 27 Feb. 2024
On the top, the speaker has power, Bluetooth, and plus and minus buttons, along with battery life and LED status indicators.
—PCMAG, 6 Feb. 2024
Temperatures were minus 4 degrees F during kickoff with a minus 27 F wind chill.
—Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 16 Jan. 2024
The Fifth District Survey of Manufacturing Activity index came in at minus 11 points from the minus five reported in November.
—Emon Reiser, WSJ, 27 Dec. 2023
Graphed out using a logarithmic scale, this information showed up as a downward 45 degree slope, or a minus one slope.
—Rachel Feltman, Popular Science, 8 Nov. 2023
The water level at Memphis fell to a record-low elevation of minus 11.5 feet on Wednesday afternoon, according to data from the National Weather Service.
—Ritu Prasad, CNN, 11 Oct. 2023
The minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit temperature in Boston smashed the previous Feb. 4 record of minus 2 set in 1886.
—Dennis Romero, NBC News, 5 Feb. 2023
Preposition
That’s the selling price of $250,000 minus your mother’s tax basis (which is now your tax basis) of $50,000.
—Liz Weston, Los Angeles Times, 21 Apr. 2024
Schultz is looking ahead to the next part of his career, which could look very similar to the previous part, just minus his mother.
—Thomas Gounley, The Denver Post, 16 Apr. 2024
Cameron Brink had no fouls in the first half but fouled out with 8:10 remaining, and Stanford couldn’t get within single digits minus the Pac-12 Player of the Year.
—Jeff Metcalfe, The Mercury News, 2 Apr. 2024
The formula for her virality looked something like this: brutally honest observations divided by deadpan delivery plus beauty products minus the fluffy commentary that usually goes with them.
—Dianna Mazzone Singh, Allure, 2 Apr. 2024
Tall tales about aid deliveries, minus the truth about Hamas thefts and Jewish hostages starving.
—Ruth Marks Eglash, Fox News, 28 Mar. 2024
Should Tesla only manage a low single digit increase over Q1 of 2023, Tesla risks becoming a growth stock minus the growth—a toxic combination that could result in severe multiple compression as fewer investors are willing to pay 60 times earnings to own a company mired in stagnation.
—Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 23 Mar. 2024
The Bank of Japan’s target policy rate was raised to a range of zero to 0.1 percent from minus 0.1 percent.
—Joe Rennison, New York Times, 19 Mar. 2024
The mercury plummeted to minus 3 with a wind chill of minus 25 at halftime of the contest played at Arrowhead Stadium.
—David K. Li, NBC News, 8 Mar. 2024
Noun
But that group was especially effective against the Warriors because of the play from Vanderbilt, who had an individual plus/minus of plus-30 in a career-high 41 minutes.
—Khobi Price, Orange County Register, 28 Jan. 2024
Dinwiddie’s actually led the Lakers in plus/minus since joining the team.
—Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times, 21 Mar. 2024
Click the plus to zoom in, and the minus button to zoom out.
—Scooty Nickerson, The Mercury News, 1 Mar. 2024
Still, Rozier did post the third-worst defensive estimated plus/minus among Hornets players this season and his point-of-attack defense will be an area to monitor.
—Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 24 Jan. 2024
The biggest minus to not shadowing Diggs is the Dolphins losing the AFC East title and having to make a trip to Kansas City for a first-round playoff game.
—Chris Perkins, Sun Sentinel, 4 Jan. 2024
Psychological knowledge can aid competitive performance under pressure, help evaluate the benefit of pursuing perfection and assess the pluses and minuses of high self-confidence.
—Tom Siegfried, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 Feb. 2024
Adebayo also ranks first on the Heat in advanced metrics like defensive win shares and defensive estimated plus/minus.
—Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 2 Feb. 2024
Offensively, the Ravens have had their ups and downs, but more pluses than minuses.
—Mike Preston, Baltimore Sun, 26 Jan. 2024
Adjective
Here’s a stat: At home this season against teams with sure-fire Hall of Famers, some of the elite scorers of our generation, the Heat entered 2-8 and a minus 94 entering tonight.
—Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 11 Apr. 2024
That supported expectations that the Bank of Japan may soon make a shift in its longstanding ultra-lax monetary policy, which is underpinned by a minus 0.1% benchmark interest rate.
—Elaine Kurtenbach, Quartz, 27 Feb. 2024
On the top, the speaker has power, Bluetooth, and plus and minus buttons, along with battery life and LED status indicators.
—PCMAG, 6 Feb. 2024
Temperatures were minus 4 degrees F during kickoff with a minus 27 F wind chill.
—Mary Kekatos, ABC News, 16 Jan. 2024
The Fifth District Survey of Manufacturing Activity index came in at minus 11 points from the minus five reported in November.
—Emon Reiser, WSJ, 27 Dec. 2023
Graphed out using a logarithmic scale, this information showed up as a downward 45 degree slope, or a minus one slope.
—Rachel Feltman, Popular Science, 8 Nov. 2023
The water level at Memphis fell to a record-low elevation of minus 11.5 feet on Wednesday afternoon, according to data from the National Weather Service.
—Ritu Prasad, CNN, 11 Oct. 2023
The minus 10 degrees Fahrenheit temperature in Boston smashed the previous Feb. 4 record of minus 2 set in 1886.
—Dennis Romero, NBC News, 5 Feb. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'minus.' 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 minus
Cite this Entry
“Minus.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/minus. Accessed 27 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
minus
1 of 3 preposition
mi·nus
ˈmī-nəs
1
: with the subtraction of : less
7 minus 4 is 3
2
: without entry 1 sense 3a
minus his hat
minus
2 of 3 noun1
: a negative quantity
2
: a negative quality
especially
: disadvantage entry 1 sense 2b
minus
3 of 3 adjective1
: mathematically negative
4 plus minus 3
2
: falling low in a specified range
a grade of C minus
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