minus
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minus¹
- /ˈmaɪ.nəs/ Canada, US, UK
- /ˈmɑe.nəs/ Australia
- /ˈmaɪ.nəs/ New Zealand
- [ˈmɑe̯.nəs] New Zealand
Rhymes with -aɪnəs
Where it comes from
From Middle English mynus, from Latin minus, neuter form of minor, comparative form of parvus (“small, little”), from the Proto-Indo-European root *mey- (“few, small”).
preposition
noun minuses · minusses
- The minus sign (−). On the third day a Master Barnard brings me up a slate full of plusses, minusses, x, y, z’s, and other letters of the alphabet, in a most amiable algebraical confusion.
- A negative quantity.
- A downside or disadvantage. He valued Roderick’s friendship with the highest value he put on anything nowadays. Over the years they had assessed each other’s plusses and minusses and settled for the difference.
Similar: defect, deficiency, drawback, flaw, shortcoming · Opposite: plus, plus sign, antonym(s) of, advantage, bonus, boon, gain
adjective
- Being a negative quantity; pertaining to a deficit or reduction. a minus number
-
That is below zero by (a specified amount) on a scale.
minus seven degrees
Similar: below zero
- Worse off than before; out of pocket. The races being finished, we left Epsom for London, Mordaunt's natural vile temper not being at all improved by being three hundred pounds minus by the week's speculation […] .
- Ranking just below (a designated rating). He got a grade of B minus for his essay.
Similar: negative
verb minuses · minusses · minusing · minussing · minused
- To subtract. For example, in solving the following equation, x + 4 = 9, the child using the negating mechanism will reason, "minussing 4" undoes "plussing 4" therefore, if x + 4 = 9 then x = 5 and will not see any point in using any intermediate steps.
Minus²
Where it comes from
Unexplained.
proper noun Minuses
- A surname.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: subtraction, negative, disadvantageous, harmful, sans, min, least, unary, nec, more, without, age, reduction, below, under, quo
noun
Similar: defect, deficiency, drawback, flaw, shortcoming · Opposite: plus, plus sign, antonym(s) of, advantage, bonus, boon, gain
adjective
Similar: negative
Translations
Every language
prep mathematics: less
| Español | menos |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 빼기 ppaegi |
| 日本語 | 引く hiku |
| 中文 | 減 /减 jiǎn |
| हिन्दी | कम kam, घटाकर ghaṭākar |
| Português | menos |
| Français | moins |
| Deutsch | weniger, minus |
| Italiano | meno |
| Ελληνικά | πλην plin, μείον meíon |
| Русский | ми́нус mínus |
| Tiếng Việt | trừ |
| العربية | نَاقَص nāqaṣ |
| עברית | פחות pakhót, מינוס mínus |
noun mathematics: negative quantity
| Español | negativo |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | 負 fu, マイナス mainasu |
| Português | negativo |
| Deutsch | Minus |
| Русский | отрица́тельная величина́ otricátelʹnaja veličiná |
noun downside or disadvantage
| Deutsch | Minus |
|---|---|
| Русский | ми́нус mínus, недоста́ток nedostátok |
adj negative
| 日本語 | 負 fu |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 负 fù |
| Português | negativo |
| Français | strictement négatif, strictement négative |
| Italiano | negativo, negativa |
| Ελληνικά | αρνητικός arnitikós |
| Русский | отрица́тельный otricátelʹnyj |
| العربية | سَالِب sālib |
adj on the negative part of a scale
| Español | menos |
|---|---|
| 日本語 | マイナス mainasu |
| Français | moins |
| Ελληνικά | μείον meíon, πλην plin |
| Русский | ми́нус mínus |
adj ranking just below a designated rating
| Français | moins |
|---|---|
| Русский | с ми́нусом s mínusom |
Talk about this word "minus." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/minus. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. minus. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/minus "minus." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/minus.Cite this
@misc{minus_2026,
title = {minus},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/minus},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
