less than

English

Noun

less than (plural less thans)

1. the character <, denoting having a smaller amount or number.

Adjective

less than (not comparable)

1. (predicative) inferior in consideration, rank, or importance
   • 2020, Frank Bruni, Mayor Pete Flew Sky High, New York Times:

     he noted that it had "sent a message to every kid out there wondering if whatever marks them out as different means they are somehow destined to be less than."

Usage notes

When used as an adjective, less than can never be used attributively, but it is also ungrammatical to use it as a postpositive immediately after the word modified. Rather, it must be used postpositively as part of a complement.

Synonyms

• less-than sign

Antonyms

• greater than

Related terms

• less than or equal to
• inequality

Translations

the character <

• Arabic: أَصْغَر مِن‎ m (ʾaṣḡar min), صُغْرَى مِن‎ f (ṣuḡrā min)
• Finnish: pienempi kuin -merkki
• French: plus petit que
• Italian: meno di
• Japanese: 小なり (しょうなり, shōnari)

• Korean: 보다 작다 (boda jakda)
• Portuguese: menor que m
• Romanian: mai mic decât
• Spanish: menor que m
• Tagalog: kubus sa

See also

• less than on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Anagrams

• nathless