as in approximately
close to but not exactly
I have plus or minus five dollars in change
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Recent Examples of plus or minus
The margin of error was plus or minus 3%, with a 95% confidence interval.
—
Emily Dreibelbis, PCMAG, 9 Feb. 2023
The Post-ABC poll was conducted Jan. 27 through Feb. 1, 2023, among a random national sample of 1,003 adults and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points among the full sample and a larger error margin among subgroups.
—Scott Clement, BostonGlobe.com, 6 Feb. 2023
The Post-ABC poll was conducted Jan. 27 through Feb. 1, 2023, among a random national sample of 1,003 adults and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points among the full sample and a larger error margin among subgroups.
—Scott Clement, Washington Post, 3 Feb. 2023
For the third quarter, the company guided for revenue of $2 billion, plus or minus $150 million.
—Kathryn Hardison, WSJ, 26 Jan. 2023
See All Example Sentences for plus or minus
Emily Dreibelbis, PCMAG, 9 Feb. 2023
The Post-ABC poll was conducted Jan. 27 through Feb. 1, 2023, among a random national sample of 1,003 adults and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points among the full sample and a larger error margin among subgroups.
—Scott Clement, BostonGlobe.com, 6 Feb. 2023
The Post-ABC poll was conducted Jan. 27 through Feb. 1, 2023, among a random national sample of 1,003 adults and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points among the full sample and a larger error margin among subgroups.
—Scott Clement, Washington Post, 3 Feb. 2023
For the third quarter, the company guided for revenue of $2 billion, plus or minus $150 million.
—Kathryn Hardison, WSJ, 26 Jan. 2023
See All Example Sentences for plus or minus
Recent Examples of Synonyms for plus or minus
Adverb
-
This once-in-a-lifetime cosmic event happens approximately every 50 years when the centaur Chiron returns to its home sign and degree, which is when the movie came out.—
Lisa Stardust,
PEOPLE,
26 Sep. 2025
-
At least 19 of the zoo's approximately 300 full-time employees have doctorate or veterinary degrees, a sign of how much the field has professionalized over time.—
Elizabeth B. Kim,
Cincinnati Enquirer,
26 Sep. 2025
Adverb
-
Officials said during Thursday’s news conference that about 660,000 Californians will be affected if credits are not renewed.—
Paul Sisson,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
26 Sep. 2025
-
Under the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the initiative will award $50 million to about a dozen projects looking at finding the causes of autism and improving outcomes for autistic individuals.—
Mary Kekatos,
ABC News,
26 Sep. 2025
Adverb
-
The epicenter was situated roughly 8 miles south of Mariposa, at a depth of 13 miles.—
CA Earthquake Bot,
Sacbee.com,
28 Sep. 2025
-
Hudson is a roughly 40-mile drive northwest from downtown Tampa.—
Mitchell Willetts,
Miami Herald,
28 Sep. 2025
Adverb
-
Out of around 400,000 approvals in the 2024 fiscal year, nearly two-thirds are renewals.—
Marina Johnson,
Louisville Courier Journal,
22 Sep. 2025
-
Dynamic webpages led to the rise of blogging, first as an experiment (some, like Justin Hall’s and Dave Winer’s, are still around today) and then as something anyone could do in their spare time.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
22 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Plus or minus.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plus%20or%20minus. Accessed 29 Sep. 2025.
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