Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

See What's Trending Now See More Trending Words

more or less

adverb

Definition of more or less

  1. 1 :  to a varying or undetermined extent or degree :  somewhat they were more or less willing to help

  2. 2 :  with small variations :  approximately contains 16 acres more or less

See more or less defined for kids

Indulge Your Inner Word Nerd

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066
watercolor-squares
We're Down With You Being—or Your Being?—a Square
image1489982902
Devilish Words
time-traveler-quiz-which-word-came-first
Time Traveler Quiz: Which Word Came First?

Examples of more or less in a Sentence

  1. the lot is 16 acres more or less

  2. most couples in the survey said that they were more or less happy in their marriage

First Known Use of more or less

13th century

more or less Synonyms

Synonyms
about, all but, borderline, fair [chiefly British], fairly, feckly [chiefly Scottish], almost, most, much, near, nearly, next to, nigh, practically, somewhere, virtually, well-nigh
Antonyms
exactly, precisely
Related Words
appreciably, by and large, chiefly, largely, mainly, mostly; kind of, partially, partly, somewhat
Near Antonyms
absolutely, altogether, completely, entirely, fully, plain, plumb [chiefly dialect], quite, thoroughly; totally, utterly, well, wholly; barely, hardly, scarcely

Learn More about more or less

  1. See words that rhyme with more or less Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for more or less

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up more or less? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show hide

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

WORD OF THE DAY

depredate

play

to plunder or ravage

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. Svengali 'A person who manipulates'

  2. syzygy An obscure astronomy term goes mainstream

  3. hegemon "Something having dominant influence over others"

  4. repugnant Trump clarifies his position on racism

  5. white nationalist, white supremacist Trending in 2017

SEE ALL

BROWSE DICTIONARY

more or less

Test Your Vocabulary

Time Traveler Quiz: Which Word Came First?

  • time-traveler-quiz-which-word-came-first
  • Which came first?
Name That Thing

Test your visual vocabulary with our 10-question challenge!

TAKE THE QUIZ
Syn City

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Words at Play

watercolor-squares
We're Down With You Being—or Your Being?—a Square

It's about (you? your?) having your say.

image1489982902
Devilish Words

Don't blame a word use error on the devil.

alt-599492594f435
How 'Wonderful' Lost Its Sense of Wonder

A case of semantic bleaching

dog-covering-face
Don't Let Reading This Be Another 'Coulda' 'Shoulda' 'Woulda'

PSA: They're three separate words.

Ask the Editors

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

payday
How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless
Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals
Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

time-traveler-quiz-which-word-came-first
Time Traveler Quiz: Which Word Came First?

Which word entered the English language first?

Take the quiz
name-more-food
Name More Food!

Test your knowledge of food vocabulary!

Take the quiz
Name That Thing
Name That Thing

Test your visual vocabulary with our 10-question challenge!

Take the quiz
Syn City
Syn City

Build a city of skyscrapers—one synonym at a time.

Play the game
Examples: more or less in a Sentence