Meaning & use
less or more
Last updated
Meanings
phrasefixed phrase
Used after a number or amount to show that it is not exact but close to the real figure.
Grammar: Comes after the number or amount it describes: 'an hour, less or more'. It is not used before a noun.
Patterns
- a number/amount + less or more
The trip takes three hours, less or more, depending on the traffic.
There were fifty guests at the wedding, less or more.
It costs two hundred dollars, less or more.
phrasefixed phraseinformal
Roughly speaking; used to soften a statement so it does not sound exact.
Grammar: Often sits at the end of a clause, after the figure or fact being softened.
Patterns
- clause + , less or more
He's been working here for ten years, less or more.
We'll finish by Friday, less or more.
Common combinations
- an hour, less or more
- The drive to the coast is an hour, less or more.
- twenty people, less or more
- Twenty people came, less or more.
- a hundred dollars, less or more
- The repair cost a hundred dollars, less or more.
- less or more the same
- The two designs are less or more the same.
Synonyms and how they differ
- more or less
- This is the usual modern form and fits almost every situation; 'less or more' sounds older and is far less common.
- approximately
- More formal and often used in writing before a number: 'approximately fifty people'.
- roughly
- Informal and common in speech; it can also go before the number, which 'less or more' cannot.
- about
- The simplest everyday choice, and it can come before the number: 'about fifty people'.
Opposites
Word family
- more or less phrase
- The standard form of the same idea, meaning 'about' or 'almost'.
Commonly confused: less or more or more or less?
less or more vs more or less
This is the normal phrase and means the same thing; 'less or more' is a rarer, older variant, so learners should generally use 'more or less'.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'less or more' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Less or more' is a fixed phrase meaning 'about' and comes after the amount, so 'two hours, less or more' is correct. Option A treats it like a comparative before a noun, which is wrong; option C confuses it with 'less ... than'; option D wrongly combines it with a comparative adjective.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “less or more”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.