How to use less in a sentence
40 example sentences · adverb, determiner, preposition
Less means used for constructing syntactic diminutive comparatives of adjectives and adverbs. Example: “Randal is less welcome than Rachel but as her spouse we should invite them both.”
Examples of less by meaning
adverbUsed for constructing syntactic diminutive comparatives of adjectives and adverbs.
- Randal is less welcome than Rachel but as her spouse we should invite them both.
- This gadget is less useful than I expected.
- I'm not any less happy for being on my own.
adverbTo a smaller extent or degree.
- The grammar book was less than (that is, not at all) helpful.
- That this is a positive one makes it no less a stereotype, and therefore unacceptable.
determinerA smaller amount of; not as much.
- No less than eight pints of beer.
- I have less tea than coffee.
- You have even less sense than an inanimate object.
determinerFewer; a smaller number of.
- There are less people here now.
- Now there are three less green bottles hanging on the wall.
- The express checkout lane is for those with ten items or less.
prepositionMinus; not including.
- It should then tax all of that as personal income, less the proportion of the car's annual mileage demonstrably clocked up on company business.
- Total: $500, less $50 expenses.
- I earned $45,000 last year, less tax and insurance.
adjectiveLesser; smaller.
- Hig speed is another cause of bullheads and cracks, because of the greater shock of contact than is the case where the speed is less.1916, The Wood-Worker, volume 35, number May 1916, page 36
nounA smaller amount or quantity.
- Less is better.
- I have less to do today than yesterday.
- Last month less of my salary was taken up with household expenses.
More sentences with less
- Handicraft is less standardized then industrial products, hence less artistic or rather flawless.From the entry industrial
- A change to the blockchain method was contemplated to allow mines to hog less electric power.From the entry mine
- I look really bad whenever I get less than seven hours of sleep.From the entry bad
- They only offered me five dollars, which I wouldn’t do it for less than fifteen.From the entry which
- This copy has too much lead; I prefer less space between the lines.From the entry lead
- Come retirement, their Social Security may turn out to be a lot less than they counted on.From the entry come
- The best adapted plant varieties tend to outgrow those less adapted.From the entry outgrow
- As the years wore on, we seemed to have less and less in common.From the entry wear
- People are less willing to take a risk to make a gain than to avoid a loss.From the entry loss
- There's no use trying to get Sarah to be less excitable. That's just the way she's wired.From the entry wire
- This breakthrough will mean that we spend less on the electricity bill.From the entry will
- Some marmosets are less than six inches tall. —Well, isn't that something?From the entry something
- Those who want to muzzle everyone else are likely nothing less than pseudovirtuous.From the entry muzzle
- The editor ornamented his plain writing, making it fancier but less clear.From the entry ornament
- One step is generally about three feet, but may be more or less.From the entry step
- It has become less common to say grace before having dinner.From the entry grace
- Her book is less a cookbook than a meditation on the craft of cookery.From the entry meditation
- I was much less religious as a teenager than I am now.From the entry religious
- Because he cambered the tires too much, he had less control on the turns.From the entry camber
- I get a better bicep workout if I use less weight and more reps.From the entry rep
- King Charles III’s coronation is to be much less elaborate compared to his mother’s.From the entry coronation
- This is a time when we think of those less fortunate than ourselves.From the entry fortunate
Meaning of less
- adverb Used for constructing syntactic diminutive comparatives of adjectives and adverbs.
- adverb To a smaller extent or degree.
- determiner A smaller amount of; not as much.
Questions about less in a sentence
- How do you use less in a sentence?
- Less is used as an adverb, determiner and preposition. For example: “Randal is less welcome than Rachel but as her spouse we should invite them both.”
- What is a short sentence with less?
- “Less is better.”
- What does less mean?
- Less means used for constructing syntactic diminutive comparatives of adjectives and adverbs.
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: less (page history and authors) and the entries each sentence comes from. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws chose the sentences, left out offensive ones and quotations older than 1900, and marked the word in each. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this page: “How to use less in a sentence.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/sentences/less. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.