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
-
The earthquake struck at a depth of 8 miles, with its epicenter approximately 4 miles north of Fontana.—
CA Earthquake Bot,
Sacbee.com,
6 Sep. 2025
-
As of Friday, Hurricane Kiko remains a major hurricane located approximately 1,200 miles east-southeast of Hawaii and is forecast to approach the islands as a tropical storm early next week, officials said.—
Jon Haworth,
ABC News,
6 Sep. 2025
Adverb
-
Pick the stems once the seeds have begun to dry and brown, then loosely bundle them and hang them upside down in a warm, dry place to dry completely, about one or two weeks.—
Karen Brewer Grossman,
Southern Living,
5 Sep. 2025
-
After about a year of running tests with doctors, they were finally given a diagnosis.—
Angel Saunders,
PEOPLE,
5 Sep. 2025
Adverb
-
The earthquake struck at a depth of 5 miles, with its epicenter roughly 1 mile southeast of Pinnacles.—
CA Earthquake Bot,
Sacbee.com,
8 Sep. 2025
-
His extended family owns roughly 1,200 acres of farmland in the region and grows cotton, wheat, grapes, melons and pistachios.—
Skyler Caruso,
PEOPLE,
8 Sep. 2025
Adverb
-
With median download speeds around 251 Mbps, Virginia households benefit from a mix of cable, fiber, wireless and satellite providers, though availability varies by location.—
Roxanne Downer,
USA Today,
28 Aug. 2025
-
There was a lot to learn from that outing and Bergert made some key changes his second time around.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
28 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Plus or minus.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/plus%20or%20minus. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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