Definition of than in English English dictionary
- Because; for
Answer me if you can, any other way, than because the Scriptures, which are infallible, Say so.
- Used in comparisons, to introduce the basis of comparison
It's bigger than I thought it was.
- introduces a comparison, and is associated with comparatives, and with words such as more, less, and fewer. Typically, it seeks to measure the force of an adjective or similar description between two predicates
Patients diagnosed more recently are probably surviving an average of longer than two years.
- {a} placed or employed only in comparison
- less than: see less more than: see more more often than not: see often other than: see other rather than: see rather
- You use than after a comparative adjective or adverb in order to link two parts of a comparison. The radio only weighs a few ounces and is smaller than a cigarette packet Indian skins age far more slowly than American or Italian ones. Than is also a conjunction. He wished he could have helped her more than he did Sometimes patients are more depressed six months later than when they first hear the bad news
- {e} as compared to
- Sometimes the object is expressed in a sentence, usually introduced by that; as, I would rather suffer than that you should want
- You use than in order to link two parts of a contrast, for example in order to state a preference. The arrangement was more a formality than a genuine partnership of two nations
- You use than when you are stating a number, quantity, or value approximately by saying that it is above or below another number, quantity, or value. They talked on the phone for more than an hour. the three-match Test series in England, starting in less than two months time
- A particle expressing comparison, used after certain adjectives and adverbs which express comparison or diversity, as more, better, other, otherwise, and the like
- Sometimes, however, the object compared is placed in the objective case, and than is then considered by some grammarians as a preposition
- conj. from
- than WEAK STRONG
- Then
- It is usually followed by the object compared in the nominative case
- as
- than a bygod
- Used with a comparative to express extreme heat or cold
It was a typical Texas summer: hotter than a bygod and not a cloud in sight.
- the cure is worse than the ill
- The solution or proposed solution to a problem produces a worse net result than the problem does (or threatens a non-negligible risk of doing so), especially via unintended consequences
- the cure is worse than the ill
- The medical treatment for an illness produces a worse net result than the illness does (or threatens a non-negligible risk of doing so), especially via adverse effects
- the cure is worse than the illness
- Alternative form of the cure is worse than the ill
- the pen is mightier than the sword
- More influence and power can be usurped by writing than by fighting
- there's more than one way to skin a cat
- A problem generally has more than one solution
- there is more to it than
- (deyim) (There is more to it than meets the eye) More is being concealed than revealed here, that's just the tip of the iceberg
- there is more to it than that
- (deyim) (There is more to it than meets the eye) More is being concealed than revealed here, that's just the tip of the iceberg
- there is more to it than meets the eye
- more is being concealed than revealed here, that's just the tip of the iceberg
- there's more than enough
- we have enough and we will still have leftovers, there is enough
- actions speak louder than words
- It is more effective to act directly than to speak of action
- better an egg today than a hen tomorrow
- It is better to have a sure thing now than a possibility of more later
- better late than never
- It's better to do something late, than to never do it at all
Their insolence and recklessness must be opposed, and better late than never.
- better safe than sorry
- It is preferable to be cautious in one's choices and actions than to suffer afterwards
- better than nothing
- barely useful, almost useless, but nevertheless better than nothing at all
- better than sex
- superlative; wonderful
- better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all
- Having experience of love, even if it ended, is better than having no experience of love
- better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all
- Love is worthwhile despite the pain involved in separation
- better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness
- In the face of bad times or hopelessness, it is more worthwhile to do some good, however small, in response than to complain about the situation
- bite off more than one can chew
- To try to do too much; to take on or attempt more than one is capable of doing
I think I bit off more than I could chew when I agreed to paint this house by myself.
- blood is thicker than water
- Family relations and loyalties are stronger than relationships with people who are not family members
The old clans are scattered now, but blood is thicker than water still, and you're welcome to the fireside of your kinsman!.
- don't drive faster than your guardian angel can fly
- Driving (a vehicle) very fast is a dangerous act
- easier said than done
- easy to propose, but difficult to accomplish
- faster-than-light
- Faster than the speed of light in a vacuum, the theoretical speed limit for travel within the universe
- finer than frog hair
- Extremely fine
Eun-hi was a business girl. One of the finest in Itaewon. Finer than frog hair, to be exact. A GI's dream.
- for-than
- Because
- have eyes bigger than one's belly
- To take more food on one's plate than one can eat; to be greedy
Your eyes are bigger than your belly.
- have eyes bigger than one's stomach
- To take more food on one's plate than one can eat; to be greedy
Your eyes are bigger than your stomach.
- have more chins than a Chinese phone book
- To be exceedingly fat, especially under the chin (as in a "double chin")
My friend, Hank Zona, used to nod his head in someone's direction and whisper, That guy has more chins than a Chinese phone book..
- heavier-than-air
- Of, pertaining to, or using an aircraft which weighs more than the volume of air it displaces
Died. John Thomas Moore, 65, who, on a windy day in December 1903, lent a hand putting a flying machine on a runway, was the last surviving witness to the Wright brothers' historic first heavier-than-air flight at Kitty Hawk.
- heavier-than-air
- Weighing more than the volume of air which it displaces
And folks laughed at Santos Dumont, at the Wrights, and at all the other fellows, who said they could take a heavier-than-air machine, and skim above the clouds like a bird.
- holier-than-thou
- sanctimonious, self-righteously, or hypocritically pious
- hotter than a fresh fucked fox in a forest fire
- extremely hot, in any sense: hot weather"." Tucson Weekly., sexually arousedA Dirty Shame, 2004, wanted by the policeAnother Day in Paradise, 1999, etc
- it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man t
- The rich can afford more immoral behavior than the poor
- it's better to ask forgiveness than permission
- The value of acting promptly and making a mistake requiring forgiveness is greater than value of delaying to get permission
- larger-than-life
- Of greater size or magnitude than is naturally or normally the case
At uniform intervals round the base of the pedestal, four naked figures in chains, somewhat larger than life, are seated in various attitudes of humiliation and despair.
- larger-than-life
- Very imposing, renowned, or impressively influential
Nor has he cultivated the kind of flamboyant style with which his country became well acquainted in larger-than-life leaders from Chiang Kai-shek to Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping.
- less than
- the character [[Appendix: Unsupported titles/Less than sign|
2 < 3.
- less than three
- love
I less than three this website.
- less than threed
- Simple past tense and past participle of less than three
- less than threeing
- Present participle of less than three
- less than threes
- Third-person singular simple present indicative form of less than three
- more cry than wool
- Asserted but not grounded in reality
In rebuttal, the petitioner offers more cry than wool. He points first to the vague threats that his family and friends relayed to him during his 1990 return to El Salvador, and speculates that members of the FMLN still sought to harm him at that time. This is unabashed surmise. Aguilar-Solis v. INS, case no. 98-1484 (1st Cir. 1998).
- more often than not
- usually; more than half the time; more likely to happen than not to happen
More often than not, tomato seeds will sprout even if they are a couple of years old.
- more than one can poke a stick at
- occurring in abundance; of a large quantity; many
Check out this shop! They have more kinds of carpet than you can poke a stick at!.
- more than one can shake a stick at
- occurring in abundance; of a large quantity; many
Any English High Street has more Indian Restaurants than you can shake a stick at.
- more than you can shake a stick at
- Alternative form of more than one can shake a stick at
- no sooner said than done
- As soon as something is said, it will be done
- older than the hills
- Alternative form of old as the hills
In the photograph you looked older than the cliché—older than the hills.
- one's bark is worse than one's bite
- The individual acts threatening but is relatively harmless
Its bark is worse than its bite.
- piss more than one drinks
- to boast; to brag
- prevention is better than cure
- it is better to prevent the creation of a bad thing, than to destroy it
- rather than
- instead of; in preference to
I'd like a dog rather than a cat.
- rather than
- Used to indicate that the following alternative is less preferred
I'd like to go home early rather than risk the roads later.
- rather than
- And not
- righter than rain
- Comparative form of right as rain: more right as rain
- sooner than later
- In the fairly near future; fairly soon
- tighter than Dick's hatband
- See Dick's hatband
- two heads are better than one
- Some problems may be solved more easily by two (or more) people working together than by one working alone
- wrongs darker than death or night
- Atrocious, unrelieved, unspeakable evils
To suffer woes which Hope thinks infinite;To forgive wrongs darker than death or night; To defy Power, which seems omnipotent;To love, and bear; to hope till Hope createsFrom its own wreck the thing it contemplates; Neither to change, nor flatter, nor repent;This, like thy glory, Titan, is to beGood, great and joyous, beautiful and free;This is alone Life, Joy, Empire, and Victory.
- you can't say fairer than that
- That is good, reasonable, or fair; one cannot hope for a better decision or outcome
- you get more with a kind word and a gun than you do with a kind word alone
- It is advantageous not to rely solely on being nice
- less than
- lesser than, to a smaller extent than, downwards from
- Actions speak louder than voice
- (Atasözü) what you do is more important than what you say
- You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar
- (Atasözü) You can win people to your side more easily by gentle persuasion and flattery than by hostile confrontation
- more often than not
- Most of the time
More often than not, a student will come up with the right answer.
- no sooner than
- (no sooner ... than) used to show that one thing happens immediately after another thing
No sooner had I started mowing the lawn than it started raining.
- nothing more than
- Only, nothing but
He dismissed Bryan as nothing more than an amateur.
- one's eyes are bigger than one's stomach
- (deyim) One has taken more food than one can eat
1. I can't eat all this. I'm afraid that my eyes were bigger than my stomach.
2. Try to take less food. Your eyes are bigger than your stomach at every meal.
