more or less

adverb

1
: to a varying or undetermined extent or degree : somewhat
they were more or less willing to help
2
: with small variations : approximately
contains 16 acres more or less

Examples of more or less in a Sentence

the lot is 16 acres more or less most couples in the survey said that they were more or less happy in their marriage
Recent Examples on the Web Some people join simply for the money, however, then may speed through, answering questions more or less at random. David Lauter, Los Angeles Times, 15 Mar. 2024 That means π is always equal to 3.14, more or less. Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 14 Mar. 2024 Some people may be more or less sensitive to the effects salt has on blood pressure. Christopher Damman, The Conversation, 12 Mar. 2024 Initially the flow of information is more or less random, but through training, the information flow between neurons improves as the network adapts to the training data. Amos Zeeberg, WIRED, 10 Mar. 2024 Through a series of tests, the researchers also found that the Chernobyl worms were no more or less likely to be tolerant of radiation than other non-Chernobyl worms of the same species, according to lead researcher and NYU post-doc Sophia Tintori. Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 8 Mar. 2024 Simultaneously, more or less the same experts went on to prepare Strategy 2020, a plan to vault Russia into one of the world’s top economies by 2020. Andrei Kolesnikov, Foreign Affairs, 7 Mar. 2024 While there certainly are some higher-alcohol dark beers (Imperial stouts spring to mind), color is not the factor that makes a beer more or less alcoholic. Jay R. Brooks, The Mercury News, 1 Mar. 2024 While the average skier or snowboarder may want more soft, fluffy flakes, racing events typically want snow that's more dense and icy — both of which can be altered at the turn of a dial on a snow machine, using more or less water in the snowmaking process. Kylie Martin, Detroit Free Press, 29 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'more or less.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of more or less was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near more or less

Cite this Entry

“More or less.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/more%20or%20less. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

more or less

adverb
1
: to a varying or uncertain degree : somewhat
they were more or less willing to help
2
: with small variations : approximately
contains 16 acres more or less
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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