minus

See also: Minus and mínus

English

Etymology

From Latin minus, neuter form of minor, comparative form of parvus (“small, little”), from the Proto-Indo-European root *mey- (“few, small”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: mīn-əs, IPA^(key): /ˈmaɪnəs/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -aɪnəs

Preposition

minus

1. (mathematics) Made less or reduced by (followed by an expression of number or quantity). [from 15th c.]

   seven minus two is five

   Antonym: plus

2. (informal) Without; deprived of. [from 19th c.]

   I walked out minus my coat.

   Synonyms: lacking, without

Derived terms

• minus sign

Translations

mathematics: less

• Arabic: نَاقَص (nāqaṣ)

  Egyptian Arabic: ناقص (naaʾeṣ)

• Armenian: հանած (hy) (hanac)
• Asturian: menos
• Basque: ken
• Bulgarian: минус (minus)
• Catalan: menys (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 减 (zh) (jiǎn)

• Czech: minus (cs), mínus (cs)
• Dutch: min (nl)
• Esperanto: minus (eo)
• Estonian: miinus (et)
• Finnish: miinus (fi), pois (fi)
• French: moins (fr)
• Galician: menos
• German: weniger (de), minus (de)
• Greek: πλην (el) n (plin), μείον (el) n (meíon)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hebrew: פחות (he) (pakhót), מינוס (mínus)
• Icelandic: mínus
• Italian: meno (it)
• Japanese: 引く (ja) (hiku)
• Korean: 빼기 (ko) (ppaegi)
• Macedonian: минус (minus)
• Norwegian: minus
• Polish: minus (pl) m
• Portuguese: menos (pt)
• Russian: ми́нус (ru) (mínus)
• Spanish: menos (es)
• Swedish: minus (sv)
• Tagalog: bawas (tl)
• Thai: ลบ (th) (lóp)
• Turkish: eksi (tr)
• Urdu: منفی
• Yiddish: מינוס (minus)

Noun

minus (plural minuses)

1. (mathematics) The minus sign (−). [from 16th c.]
2. (mathematics) A negative quantity. [from 18th c.]
3. A downside or disadvantage. [from 20th c.]

Synonyms

• (defect or deficiency): defect, deficiency, drawback, flaw, shortcoming

Antonyms

• (minus sign): plus, plus sign
• (negative quantity): positive
• (defect or deficiency): advantage, bonus, boon, gain, plus

Translations

minus sign — see minus sign

mathematics: negative quantity

• German: Minus (de) n
• Icelandic: neikvæð tala f, tala sem er minni en núll f
• Japanese: 負 (ja) (ふ, fu), マイナス (ja) (mainasu)
• Portuguese: negativo (pt) m
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Russian: отрица́тельная величина́ (otricátelʹnaja veličiná)
• Spanish: negativo (es) m
• Swedish: negativ kvantitet

downside or disadvantage

• Czech: mínus (cs) n
• Finnish: miinus (colloquial)
• German: Minus (de) n
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Icelandic: mínus m, ókostur m
• Russian: ми́нус (ru) (mínus), недоста́ток (ru) (nedostátok)
• Swedish: brist (sv), minus (sv)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• (deprecated template usage) Korean: 빼기 (bbaegi)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• (deprecated template usage) Mandarin: 減去, 减去 (jiǎn qù)

Adjective

minus (not comparable)

1. Being a negative quantity; pertaining to a deficit or reduction. [from 18th c.]

   a minus number

2. That is below zero by (a specified amount) on a scale. [from 19th c.]

   minus seven degrees

3. (colloquial, obsolete) Worse off than before; out of pocket. [19th c.]
   • 1808–10, William Hickey, Memoirs of a Georgian Rake, Folio Society 1995, p. 301:

     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 […] .

4. (postpositive) Ranking just below (a designated rating). [from 19th c.]

   He got a grade of B minus for his essay.

Synonyms

• (negative): negative
• (on the negative part of a scale): below zero (after the noun)

Translations

negative

• Arabic: سَالِب (sālib)
• Armenian: բացասական (hy) (bacʻasakan)
• Bulgarian: отрицателен (bg) (otricatelen)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 负 (zh) (fù)

• Dutch: min (nl), negatief (nl), negatieve (nl)
• Finnish: negatiivinen (fi)
• French: strictement négatif (fr) m, strictement négative (fr) f
• Greek: αρνητικός (el) (arnitikós)
• Hungarian: mínusz (hu), negatív (hu)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Icelandic: mínus-, sem lýtur að frádrætti, frádráttar-, neikvæður (is), minni en núll
• Italian: negativo (it) m, negativa (it) f
• Japanese: 負 (ja) (fu)
• Norwegian: negativ (no)
• Polish: ujemny (pl)
• Portuguese: negativo (pt) m
• Russian: отрица́тельный (ru) (otricátelʹnyj)
• Swedish: negativ (sv)

on the negative part of a scale

• Armenian: մինուս (hy) (minus)
• Basque: minus
• Dutch: min (nl), onder nul (after the noun)
• Finnish: miinus; (x astetta) pakkasta - (x degrees) frost
• French: moins (fr)
• Greek: μείον (el) (meíon), πλην (el) (plin)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Hungarian: mínusz (hu)
• Icelandic: mínus-, neikvæður (is), minni en núll
• Japanese: マイナス (ja) (mainasu)
• Russian: ми́нус (ru) (mínus)
• Swedish: minus (sv)

ranking just below a designated rating

• Finnish: miinus (fi), miikka (fi) (slang)
• French: moins (fr)
• Hungarian: alá (hu)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Icelandic: mínus
• Russian: с ми́нусом (s mínusom)
• Swedish: minus (sv)

Verb

minus (third-person singular simple present minuses, present participle minusing, simple past and past participle minused)

1. (transitive, colloquial) To subtract. [from 20th c.]
   • 2011, Laura Christine Bofferding, Expanding the Numerical Central Conceptual Structure:

     Four plus one is 5 and you go down because it's minusing, […]

See also

• subtract
• subtraction

References

• Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “minus”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.
• “minus”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.

Anagrams

• in sum, munis, simun

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Crimean Tatar

Etymology

From Latin minus (“less”).

Noun

minus

1. minus

Declension

Declension of minus

nominative	minus
genitive	minusnıñ
dative	minusqa
accusative	minusnı
locative	minusta
ablative	minustan

References

• Mirjejev, V. A., Usejinov, S. M. (2002) Ukrajinsʹko-krymsʹkotatarsʹkyj slovnyk [Ukrainian – Crimean Tatar Dictionary]‎^[1], Simferopol: Dolya, →ISBN

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Czech

Etymology

From Latin minus, from minor.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈmiːnus]

Adverb

minus

1. minus

Noun

1. minus

Antonyms

• plus

Related terms

• administrace
• administrativa
• administrátor
• administrovat
• deminutivum
• minimalismus
• minimalista
• minimalistický
• minimalizace
• minimalizovat
• minimální
• minimum
• ministerstvo
• ministr
• ministrant
• minorita
• minuskule
• minuta

 

Further reading

• Template:R:PSJC
• Template:R:SSJC

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Esperanto

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈminus/

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -inus

Conjunction

minus

1. minus

   Tri minus du estas unu. ― Three minus two is one.

   Antonym: plus

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German

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ˈmiːnʊs]

• Audio:

  (file)

Adverb

minus

1. (mathematics) minus, less

   vier minus drei ist eins. ― 4–3=1

   Synonym: weniger

   Antonym: plus

See also

• Minus

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Interlingua

Adverb

minus (not comparable)

1. less (used to form comparatives)

le minus

1. the least (used to form superlatives)

Antonyms

• plus

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Latin

Etymology

From Proto-Italic *minos. Related to minor.

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /ˈmi.nus/, [ˈmɪnʊs̠]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /ˈmi.nus/, [ˈmiːnus]

Adjective

(deprecated template usage) minus

1. nominative neuter singular of minor
2. accusative neuter singular of minor
3. vocative neuter singular of minor

Adverb

minus

1. comparative degree of paulum

References

• “minus”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “minus”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
• minus in Charles du Fresne du Cange’s Glossarium Mediæ et Infimæ Latinitatis (augmented edition with additions by D. P. Carpenterius, Adelungius and others, edited by Léopold Favre, 1883–1887)

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Norwegian Bokmål

Etymology

From Latin minus

Adverb

minus

1. minus

Derived terms

• minustegn

References

• “minus” in The Bokmål Dictionary.
• “minus_1” in Det Norske Akademis ordbok (NAOB).

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Norwegian Nynorsk

Etymology

From Latin minus

Adverb

minus

1. minus

Derived terms

• minusteikn

References

• “minus” in The Nynorsk Dictionary.

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Polish

Pronunciation

• Template:pl-IPA

• Audio:

  (file)

Noun

minus m inan

1. minus, minus sign

Declension

Declension of minus

	singular	plural
nominative	minus	minusy
genitive	minusa	minusów
dative	minusowi	minusom
accusative	minus	minusy
instrumental	minusem	minusami
locative	minusie	minusach
vocative	minusie	minusy

Antonyms

• plus

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Serbo-Croatian

Noun

mínus m (Cyrillic spelling ми́нус)

1. minus sign
2. minuns, defect, deficiency

Declension

Declension of minus

	singular	plural
nominative	minus	minusi
genitive	minusa	minusa
dative	minusu	minusima
accusative	minus	minuse
vocative	minuse	minusi
locative	minusu	minusima
instrumental	minusom	minusima

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Swedish

Noun

minus n

1. minus sign, minus

Preposition

minus

1. (mathematics) minus

   Tre minus två är ett.

   Three minus two is one.

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Veps

Pronoun

minus

1. inessive of minä