Merriam-Webster Logo
SINCE 1828
Menu
×

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

1

plus or minus

adjective

Definition of plus or minus

  1. :  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

See plus or minus defined for kids

People Are Reading

alt-597233d35a146
Trending: 'Scaramouch,' Scaramucci Possibly to Fandango
video-title-words-of-the-year-1066
Words of the Year: 1066
emoji-the-quiz
The Emoji Quiz
image386126722
Words That Come From the Dinner Table

First Known Use of plus or minus

1926

2

plus or minus

adverb

Definition of plus or minus

  1. :  more or less, approximately a dance for singles plus or minus age 30

Examples of plus or minus in a Sentence

  1. I have plus or minus five dollars in change.

First Known Use of plus or minus

1849

plus or minus Synonyms

Synonyms
about, around, like, more or less, much, near, approximately, roughly, say, some
Antonyms
exactly, precisely
Related Words
generally, kind of, loosely; nearly, nominally, practically, virtually, well-nigh
Near Antonyms
due, even, just, sharp, smack-dab, squarely

Learn More about plus or minus

  1. See words that rhyme with plus or minus Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for plus or minus

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up plus or minus? 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

tare

play

the weight of a container

Get Word of the Day daily email!

TRENDING NOW

  1. scaramouch A new White House communications director

  2. non sequitur “It does not follow”

  3. admiral's mast A massive search ends with an 'admiral's mast'.

  4. calumny 'An untrue statement that is made to damage someone's reputation'

  5. kakistocracy Frustrated Twitter users have been searching for this word.

SEE ALL

BROWSE DICTIONARY

plus or minus

Test Your Vocabulary

The Emoji Quiz

  • emoji-the-quiz
  • What phase of the moon is this: 🌖 ?
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

TAKE THE QUIZ
Citation

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

alt-59721dd897313
The 'Best' Way to Sign Off On An E-mail

Give them your best

image386126722
Words and Phrases That Come from the Dinner Table

Fill your plate with these surprising food words

ghost-being-disinvited-from-party
'Disinvite' or 'Uninvite'?

A disinvited guest is an uninvited problem

alt-596f730ceb5ae
Words We're Watching: 'Scoby'

Kombucha lovers unite.

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

emoji-the-quiz
The Emoji Quiz

Think you’re an emoji 👓 expert? Let’s see 🤔

Take the quiz
image941935269
A Game of Thrones Word Quiz

In the Game of Thrones quiz, you learn some new vocabulary. (It’s quite safe, really. You will not die.)

Take the quiz
Spell It
Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

Take the quiz
Citation
Citation

Do you know the person or title these quotes describe?

Play the game
Examples: plus or minus in a Sentence