Less means a smaller amount of something (determiner / pronoun) or to a smaller degree (adverb). It is also used as a preposition meaning minus. As a determiner it modifies uncountable nouns; as an adverb it modifies adjectives and other adverbs.
What Does Less Mean?
Less is the comparative form of little. It comes from Old English laessa (adjective) and laes (adverb), both from Proto-Germanic roots, and has been in continuous use for over a thousand years. The superlative form is least.
The word works in three main ways. As a determiner it appears before uncountable nouns: less noise, less traffic, less time. As an adverb it modifies adjectives, adverbs, or verbs: less expensive, less often, I worry less now. As a pronoun it stands alone in place of a noun: I expected more but received less. In formal and financial writing it functions as a preposition meaning minus: the total cost less VAT.
The most important usage distinction for English learners is the less vs fewer rule: in careful, formal British English, less is used with uncountable nouns and fewer is used with countable nouns. In everyday speech this distinction is often relaxed, but it remains important in writing.
Etymology Note
Old English laes (adverb) and laessa (adjective) descend from Proto-Germanic *laisiz. The word has cognates in Old Saxon, Old High German, and Old Norse. The modern spelling less has been stable since Middle English. The suffix -less (as in hopeless, careless) is a separate morpheme meaning "without" and is not historically connected to this word.
Example Sentences
| Sentence | Level & usage note |
|---|---|
| I drink less coffee in the evening. | A2 — determiner + uncountable noun |
| She makes fewer errors now than when she started the course. | B1 — fewer with countable noun (formal rule) |
| This laptop is less expensive than the one I bought last year. | B1 — adverb modifying adjective |
| The new traffic system means commuters spend less time sitting in queues. | B2 — determiner in extended context |
| The grant covered tuition fees less a small administration charge, which the university absorbed. | C1 — prepositional use (minus) in formal register |
Collocations
| Collocation | Example |
|---|---|
| less time | We have less time than we thought. |
| less money | Students often live on less money than they expect. |
| less likely | Regular exercise makes you less likely to feel stressed. |
| less important | Price became less important once quality improved. |
| less common | Formal letter writing is less common than it used to be. |
| less and less | She found the job less and less rewarding over time. |
| more or less | The report is more or less finished — just the conclusion left. |
| no less than | The repairs cost no less than £2,000. |
| nothing less than | Her performance was nothing less than outstanding. |
| much less | He can barely walk, much less run a marathon. |
Usage Notes
When to Use Less vs Fewer
- Use less with uncountable (mass) nouns: less water, less noise, less information, less effort.
- Use fewer with countable nouns in formal writing: fewer students, fewer mistakes, fewer options.
- Less with countable nouns is common in informal speech and accepted in fixed phrases: in less than three hours, 10 items or less.
- When in doubt for writing, ask: can you count individual units? If yes, use fewer.
Common Mistakes
Watch Out For
She makes less errors now than when she started. (countable noun — formal writing)
She makes fewer errors now than when she started. (fewer with countable nouns)
This route is less more direct than the motorway.
This route is less direct than the motorway. (less + base adjective, not comparative)
I have less and less of patients for slow internet.
I have less and less patience for slow internet. (patience is uncountable)