than

/ðæn/

name 3conj 2prep 1adv 1

Collocations

ADJ.

average, better, complex, greater, last, late, lethal, likely

The new software is more complex than the old version we used last year.

VERB + THAN

know, mistake, say, shape, take, time, took, traveling

I know more about this topic than I can explain in just five minutes.

THAN + NOUN

ancestors, bow, boys, discovery, greg, hours, hunter-gatherer, life

She spent more time with her ancestors than with her own family growing up.

PREP.

from, in, in, on

She learned more from her mistakes than from her successes in life.

ADV.

rather

I'd rather stay home than go to that crowded party tonight.

Definitions

conj

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.

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.

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.

prep

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.

adv

At that time; then.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

Antonyms

Idioms & Phrases

there's more than one way to skin a cat

A problem generally has more than one solution; there is more than one way to achieve a goal.

At any rate, thought I, there's more than one way to skin a cat, as a butcher would say.

than a bygod

Used with a comparative to express extreme heat or cold.

It's colder than a bygod out there!

more often than not

Usually; more than half the time; more likely to be the case than not to be the case.

Near-synonyms: commonly, frequently; usually; see also Thesaurus:usually

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.

It seems as though you had come to be so very near to us; and blood is thicker than water, is it not? If cousins are not friends, who can be?

Example Bank

Wiktionary

The artist worried more than was necessary: there were a lot of people at the exhibition, more than came last year.

Wiktionary

Answer me if you can, any other way, than because the Scriptures, which are infallible, Say so.

Wiktionary

Patients diagnosed more recently are probably surviving an average of longer than two years.

Wiktionary

No player is more skillful than Greg.

Wiktionary

You're in better shape than I am.

Tatoeba · #1295

Usage Notes

i Register

In some senses, than is marked as obsolete. Watch for register when choosing this word.

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