than
/ðæn/
More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations
unstressed/ðən/
than conjunction: used in comparisons, to introduce the basis of comparison.
Conjunction
than
- Used in comparisons, to introduce the basis of comparison.
- Whether modern, industrial man is less or more warlike than his hunter-gatherer ancestors is impossible to determine. The machine gun is so much more lethal than the bow and arrow that comparisons are meaningless.2013 July 20, “Old Soldiers?”, in The Economist, volume 408, number 8845
- The artist worried more than was necessary: there were a lot of people at the exhibition, more than came last year.
- Because; for.
- If thou say yes, then puttest thou on Christ (that is, the wisdome of God, the Father) unkunning, unpower, or euil will: for than he could not make his rule so good as an other did his.1854, Reformation series
- You shall also take the fine earth or mould which is found in the hollow of old Willow trees, rising from the root almost to the middle of the Tree, at least so far as the tree is hollow, for than this, there is no earth or mould finer or richer.1668, William Lawson, A Way to Get Wealth
Preposition
than
- 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.
- No player is more skillful than Greg.
Adverb
than (not comparable)
- At that time; then.
Proper noun capitalized: Than
Than (plural Thans)
- A surname.
- Thangadh, a town in the Indian state of Gujarat.
- A village in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh.
than meaning in Hindi, Urdu, Bengali and Telugu
than in Hindi
- Introduces a comparison
- की अपेक्षा kī apekṣā, ... से
than in Urdu
- Introduces a comparison
- ... سے
than in Bengali
- Introduces a comparison
- চেয়ে ceẏe
than in Telugu
- Introduces a comparison
- కంటె kaṇṭe
More languagesFewer languages
- than in Tagalog
- kaysa, sa, kumpara
- than in Arabic
- مِن min
- than in Malay
- daripada
- than in Indonesian
- daripada
- than in Persian
- از az
- than in Thai
- กว่า gwàa
- than in Vietnamese
- hơn
- than in Myanmar
- ထက် htak
Examples of than in a sentence
- Profits were higher than forecast.
- City dwellers have a higher cancer rate than do countrymen. Apparently, they drink more than is good for 'em.
- A lot bigger than I ever believe could be possible.
- Answer me if you can, any other way, than because the Scriptures, which are infallible, Say so.1665, Edward Stillingfleet, William Laud, Thomas Carwell, A Rational Account of the Grounds of Protestant Religion:
Forms of than
| Conjunction | |
|---|---|
| alternative form (nonstandard) | 'n |
| alternative form (obsolete) | thanne |
| alternative form (obsolete) | then |
| Proper noun | |
| plural | Thans |
Origin of than
From Middle English than, thanne (“than; then”), from Old English þanne, a variant of þonne (“then; when; than”), from Proto-West Germanic *þannē, an alteration of *þan (“then; than”), from Proto-Germanic *þan (“then; than”), from earlier *þam, from Proto-Indo-European *tóm, accusative masculine of *só (“that”, demonstrative pronoun). Cognate with Dutch dan (“then; than”), German denn (“for; so”), German dann (“then”). Doublet of then.
Borrowing from Burmese သန်း (san:) or Khmer ថន (thɑɑn).
Words formed from than
Phrases with than
- less than
- other than
- than again
- rather than
- greater than
- than a bygod
- no later than
- no sooner than
- better than sex
- less than three
- none other than
- older than dirt
188 more phrasesFewer phrases
- bigger than life
- bigger than shit
- larger than life
- less than threed
- less than threes
- more than eleven
- more than likely
- deader than disco
- faster than light
- less than no time
- less than nothing
- less than stellar
- more than friends
- nothing less than
- nothing more than
- quicker than scat
- righter than rain
- sooner than later
- whiter than white
- dumber than a rock
- higher than a kite
- less than threeing
- more cry than wool
- better than nothing
- bigger than Ben Hur
- less than truckload
- more often than not
- now, more than ever
- better dead than red
- drunker than a skunk
- finer than frog hair
- hotter than a pistol
- in less than no time
- lower than whaleshit
- more dead than alive
- more heat than light
- more sauce than meat
- older than the hills
- slower than molasses
- easier said than done
- more money than sense
- better late than never
- better safe than sorry
- crazier than a junebug
- deader than a doornail
- do more harm than good
- drunker than a skunker
- more money than brains
- more often than naught
- more often than nought
- rarer than hen's teeth
- rarer than hens' teeth
- tighter than wallpaper
- crazier than a June bug
- cut deeper than a knife
- did more harm than good
- faster than Minute Rice
- had more money than God
- has more money than God
- more dollars than sense
- more than meets the eye
- older than the Pyramids
- thicker than a Snickers
- cuts deeper than a knife
- does more harm than good
- done more harm than good
- harder than Chinese math
- have more money than God
- more kicks than ha'pence
- no sooner said than done
- sooner rather than later
- doing more harm than good
- piss more than one drinks
- uglier than homemade soap
- dumber than a box of rocks
- having more money than God
- lower than a snake's belly
- nuttier than squirrel poop
- nuttier than squirrel shit
- pissed more than one drank
- blood is thicker than water
- cutting deeper than a knife
- more Catholic than the Pope
- more royalist than the king
- more than one bargained for
- pisses more than one drinks
- tighter than Dick's hatband
- crazier than a shithouse rat
- dumber than a bag of hammers
- dumber than a sack of bricks
- pissing more than one drinks
- better than a poke in the eye
- easier than falling off a log
- fact is stranger than fiction
- facts speak louder than words
- had more chins than Chinatown
- has more chins than Chinatown
- two heads are better than one
- wetter than an otter's pocket
- cut off more than one can chew
- have more chins than Chinatown
- more than one cares to mention
- no better than one ought to be
- prevention is better than cure
- truth is stranger than fiction
- you can't say fairer than that
- actions speak louder than words
- better than a kick in the teeth
- bite off more than one can chew
- cuts off more than one can chew
- half a loaf is better than none
- hotter than a two dollar pistol
- hotter than a two-dollar pistol
- slower than molasses in January
- bit off more than one could chew
- bites off more than one can chew
- broker than the Ten Commandments
- cut off more than one could chew
- drier than a dead dingo's donger
- having more chins than Chinatown
- made a better door than a window
- make a better door than a window
- prevention is better than a cure
- something is better than nothing
- biting off more than one can chew
- have eyes bigger than one's belly
- in more shit than a Werribee duck
- makes a better door than a window
- more comfortable than an old shoe
- more than one can poke a stick at
- cutting off more than one can chew
- had eyes bigger than one's stomach
- half a loaf is better than no loaf
- has eyes bigger than one's stomach
- have got more chins than Chinatown
- making a better door than a window
- more confusing than a Rubik's Cube
- more than one can shake a stick at
- more than you can shake a stick at
- the cure is worse than the disease
- the pen is mightier than the sword
- bitten off more than one could chew
- half a loaf is better than no bread
- have eyes bigger than one's stomach
- one's bark is worse than one's bite
- the tongue wounds more than a lance
- having eyes bigger than one's stomach
- honey catches more flies than vinegar
- more than someone has had hot dinners
- better to be late than be dead on time
- faster than a minnow can swim a dipper
- better an egg today than a hen tomorrow
- had more chins than a Chinese phonebook
- has more chins than a Chinese phonebook
- quicker than a minnow can swim a dipper
- there's more than one way to feed a cat
- there's more than one way to fuck a cat
- there's more than one way to skin a cat
- had more chins than a Chinese phone book
- has more chins than a Chinese phone book
- have more chins than a Chinese phonebook
- more than someone has had cooked dinners
- there are more horses' asses than horses
- there's more than one way to cook an egg
- have more chins than a Chinese phone book
- there's more than one way to crack an egg
- had more of something in one's finger than
- has more of something in one's finger than
- having more chins than a Chinese phonebook
- better one word in time than two afterwards
- had got more chins than a Chinese phonebook
- has got more chins than a Chinese phonebook
- have more of something in one's finger than
- having more chins than a Chinese phone book
- there's more than one way to peel an orange
- a chain is no stronger than its weakest link
- had got more chins than a Chinese phone book
- has got more chins than a Chinese phone book
- have got more chins than a Chinese phonebook
- you catch more flies with honey than vinegar
- have got more chins than a Chinese phone book
- having more of something in one's finger than
- having got more chins than a Chinese phonebook
- it's better to ask forgiveness than permission
- you attract more flies with honey than vinegar
- better than a poke in the eye with a rusty nail
- having got more chins than a Chinese phone book
- it is better to travel hopefully than to arrive
Words that rhyme with than
48 more rhymesFewer rhymes
- clan
- ban
- Cheyenne
- Longshan
- Nanshan
- plan
- an
- gan
- Gushan
- han
- Hongshan
- mann
- nan
- stan
- tan
- unman
- Baoshan
- Dongshan
- flan
- Heshan
- Jinshan
- langshan
- marzipan
- panne
- Qishan
- ran
- rattan
- bantustan
- began
- chan
- Fengshan
- Fran
- Guanshan
- Hengshan
- Huangshan
- Huishan
- japan
- Lausanne
- Lianshan
- Lushan
- Marianne
- Pingshan
- scran
- sedan
- shan
- trapan
- trepan
- Xi'an
Questions about than
- What does than mean?
- Than means used in comparisons, to introduce the basis of comparison.
- What is than in Hindi?
- Than in Hindi is की अपेक्षा (kī apekṣā), ... से. See Than meaning in Hindi.
- How do you use than in a sentence?
- Profits were higher than forecast.
- What part of speech is than?
- Than can be a conjunction, a preposition, an adverb or a proper noun.
- How do you pronounce than?
- Than is pronounced /ðæn/.
Words near than in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: than (page history and authors); Than (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-us-than.ogg.
Cite this entry: “than.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/than. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.