- used with uncountable nouns to mean ‘a smaller amount of’
- less something less butter/time/importance
- Smaller companies that had fewer employees and less revenue also experienced problems.
- less to do We have less to worry about now.
- less of something They say we should exercise and eat less of some kinds of fat.
- less than… We'll be there in less than no time (= very soon).
- The victory was nothing less than a miracle.
- less of something than… It is less of a problem than I'd expected.
Word OriginOld English lǣssa, of Germanic origin; related to Old Frisian lēssa, from an Indo-European root shared by Greek loisthos ‘last’.Definitions on the go
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Idioms
See less in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee less in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishless and less
- smaller and smaller amounts; at a rate that is decreasing
- As time passed, she saw less and less of all her old friends at home.
- There used to be TV shows that everyone would watch at the same time and talk about the next day, but that happens less and less.
less is more
- (saying) including only what is essential can create a more effective product or result
- His simple, elegant paintings reflect his principle that less is more.
no less
- (often ironic) used to suggest that something is surprising or impressive
- She's having lunch with the Director, no less.
no less than…
- used to emphasize a large amount
- The seller expects to get no less than $10 000 for the artwork.
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less