less
English · Thesaurus
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less¹
- /lɛs/
Rhymes with -ɛs
Where it comes from
Adverb from Middle English les, lesse, leasse, lasse, from Old English lǣs (“smaller, less”), from Proto-Germanic *laisiz, from Proto-Indo-European *leys- (“to shrink, grow thin, be gentle”). Cognate with Old Frisian lēs (“less”), Old Saxon lēs (“less”). According to Kroonen (2013), from a northern Indo-European root Proto-Indo-European *leh₂is- or *leh₃is-, which he connects to Lithuanian liesas (“lean”).
Determiner and preposition from Middle English lees, lesse, leasse, lasse, from Old English lǣssa (“less”), from Proto-Germanic *laisizan-, from Proto-Germanic *laisiz (“smaller, lesser, fewer, lower”) (see above). Cognate with Old Frisian lessa (“less”).
Verb from Middle English lessen, from the determiner.
Noun from Middle English lesse, from the determiner.
adverb
- comparative degree of little I slept little last night, but even less the night before.
- Used for constructing syntactic diminutive comparatives of adjectives and adverbs. This gadget is less useful than I expected.
- To a smaller extent or degree. The grammar book was less than (that is, not at all) helpful.
Opposite: more
determiner
-
comparative form of little: more little; of inferior size, degree or extent; smaller, lesser.
Those Rattels are somewhat like the chape of a Rapier, but lesse, which they take from the taile of a snake.
Opposite: greater
- A smaller amount of; not as much. No less than eight pints of beer.
- Fewer; a smaller number of. There are less people here now.
Opposite: more
preposition
- Minus; not including It should then tax all of that as personal income, less the proportion of the car's annual mileage demonstrably clocked up on company business.
Opposite: plus
verb lesses · lessing · lessed
- To make less; to lessen. 1386-90, Gower, Confessio Amantis What he will make lesse, he lesseth.
adjective
- Lesser; smaller. Such too, to a greater or less extent, is the condition of the operatives of every denomination in England, which is the great workhouse of the world.
noun
- A smaller amount or quantity. Less is better, because less is more.
less²
- /lɛs/
Rhymes with -ɛs
Where it comes from
From Middle English lesse, les, from Old English lǣs, as in þȳ lǣs þe.
conjunction
- unless To tell you true, 'tis too good for you, 'less you had grace to follow it
less³
- /lɛs/
Rhymes with -ɛs
verb
- Pronunciation spelling or misspelling of let's
LESs⁴
noun
- plural of LES
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: inferior, lower, fewer, diminished, reduced, decreasingly, reduce, decrease, minimum, small, minimally, minimal, slower, reduction, narrower, reducing
adverb
Opposite: more
determiner
Opposite: more
preposition
Opposite: plus
Translations
Every language
adv to a smaller extent or degree
| Español | menos, en menos |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | ...より少ない, それほど...ない sorehodo... nai |
| 中文 | 更少 gèng shǎo, 不太 bù tài, 不那么 bù nàme |
| हिन्दी | न्यून nyūn, अल्प alp |
| Português | menos |
| Français | moins |
| Deutsch | weniger |
| Italiano | meno |
| Ελληνικά | λιγότερο ligótero |
| Русский | ме́ньше ménʹše, ме́нее méneje |
| العربية | أَقَلّ ʔaqall |
| עברית | פָּחוֹת pakhot |
det not as much
| Español | menos |
|---|---|
| Português | menos |
| Français | moins |
| Deutsch | weniger |
| Italiano | meno |
| Română | mai puțin |
| Русский | ме́ньше ménʹše |
| العربية | أَقَلّ ʔaqall |
det smaller number of
| Português | menos |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | weniger |
| Ελληνικά | λιγότερος ligóteros |
| Русский | ме́ньше ménʹše |
| العربية | أَقَلّ ʔaqall |
prep not including
| Português | menos, exceto, fora |
|---|---|
| Русский | ми́нус mínus, за вы́четом za výčetom |
| العربية | نَاقِص nāqiṣ |
verb to make less
| Deutsch | verringern, verkleinern |
|---|
Talk about this word "less." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/less. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. less. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/less "less." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/less.Cite this
@misc{less_2026,
title = {less},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/less},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
