: indicating a quantity whose algebraically positive and negative values serve to bracket a range of values either alone or when added to and subtracted from a given number
measured with an accuracy of plus or minus 3 feet
: more or less, approximately
a dance for singles plus or minus age 30
Synonyms
Examples of plus or minus in a Sentence
Adverb
I have plus or minus five dollars in change.
Recent Examples on the Web
Mark Murray, NBC News, 27 Nov. 2023
When all states are combined, the margin of sampling error is plus or minus 1.8 percentage points.
—Maggie Haberman, New York Times, 6 Nov. 2023
Engineers estimate the canister holds 250 grams of material from Bennu, plus or minus 100 grams.
—Marcia Dunn, The Christian Science Monitor, 24 Sep. 2023
Questions based on the sample of 406 voters likely to attend the 2024 Iowa Republican caucuses have a maximum margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.
—Brianne Pfannenstiel, USA TODAY, 29 Aug. 2023
The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.
—The Salt Lake Tribune, 1 Aug. 2023
The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.
—Lawrence Richard, Fox News, 8 Nov. 2023
The overall margin of error is plus or minus three percentage points.
—Emily Guskin, Washington Post, 22 Oct. 2023
Also new approaches like neo-adjuvant immunotherapy plus or minus chemotherapy improved the overall survival of patients with stage 2 NSCLC.
—Sanja Jelic, Verywell Health, 22 Sep. 2023
Sarah Elbeshbishi, USA TODAY, 23 Mar. 2023
The poll surveyed 805 adults via telephone interviews from March 16-20, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 5.8 percentage points.
—Bridget Bowman, NBC News, 21 Mar. 2023
The Ipsos phone survey of 1,004 adults is considered accurate to within plus or minus four percentage points.
—Arkansas Online, 26 Nov. 2022
Pre-crash, that cycle took about 11 hours and 55 minutes, but post-crash, that orbit time has dropped to 11 hours and 23 minutes (plus or minus a two-minute margin of uncertainty).
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 11 Oct. 2022
Here, purchaser simply put money in, and got money back, plus or minus their investment return, and less fees and expenses.
—Jay Adkisson, Forbes, 7 Mar. 2023
With only about 340 individuals — plus or minus seven — remaining, according to a report released in the fall by the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium, the whales are VIP visitors to the region's waters.
—Heather McCarron, USA TODAY, 6 Mar. 2023
For the third quarter, the company guided for revenue of $2 billion, plus or minus $150 million.
—Kathryn Hardison, WSJ, 26 Jan. 2023
Results from the full survey have a margin of error of plus or minus 6 percentage points.
—Dallas News, 18 Jan. 2023
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Adjective
Both surveys have a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points
Biden also has a lower approval rating — and higher disapproval rating — in our polling than Obama ever had during his first term.
—Mark Murray, NBC News, 27 Nov. 2023
When all states are combined, the margin of sampling error is plus or minus 1.8 percentage points.
—Maggie Haberman, New York Times, 6 Nov. 2023
Engineers estimate the canister holds 250 grams of material from Bennu, plus or minus 100 grams.
—Marcia Dunn, The Christian Science Monitor, 24 Sep. 2023
Questions based on the sample of 406 voters likely to attend the 2024 Iowa Republican caucuses have a maximum margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.
—Brianne Pfannenstiel, USA TODAY, 29 Aug. 2023
The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.
—The Salt Lake Tribune, 1 Aug. 2023
The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.
—Lawrence Richard, Fox News, 8 Nov. 2023
The overall margin of error is plus or minus three percentage points.
—Emily Guskin, Washington Post, 22 Oct. 2023
Also new approaches like neo-adjuvant immunotherapy plus or minus chemotherapy improved the overall survival of patients with stage 2 NSCLC.
—Sanja Jelic, Verywell Health, 22 Sep. 2023
Adverb
The survey of 1,582 adults, taken March 16-20 online has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.7%.
—Sarah Elbeshbishi, USA TODAY, 23 Mar. 2023
The poll surveyed 805 adults via telephone interviews from March 16-20, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 5.8 percentage points.
—Bridget Bowman, NBC News, 21 Mar. 2023
The Ipsos phone survey of 1,004 adults is considered accurate to within plus or minus four percentage points.
—Arkansas Online, 26 Nov. 2022
Pre-crash, that cycle took about 11 hours and 55 minutes, but post-crash, that orbit time has dropped to 11 hours and 23 minutes (plus or minus a two-minute margin of uncertainty).
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 11 Oct. 2022
Here, purchaser simply put money in, and got money back, plus or minus their investment return, and less fees and expenses.
—Jay Adkisson, Forbes, 7 Mar. 2023
With only about 340 individuals — plus or minus seven — remaining, according to a report released in the fall by the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium, the whales are VIP visitors to the region's waters.
—Heather McCarron, USA TODAY, 6 Mar. 2023
For the third quarter, the company guided for revenue of $2 billion, plus or minus $150 million.
—Kathryn Hardison, WSJ, 26 Jan. 2023
Results from the full survey have a margin of error of plus or minus 6 percentage points.
—Dallas News, 18 Jan. 2023
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'plus or minus.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Dictionary Entries Near plus or minus
Cite this Entry
“Plus or minus.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plus%20or%20minus. Accessed 11 Dec. 2023.
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Kids Definition
plus or minus
adjective
: indicating a quantity whose positive and negative values establish the limits of a range of values
measured with an accuracy of plus or minus 1 gram
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