less than

Idioms and Phrases

Not at all or hardly at all. For example, He had a less than favorable view of the matter , or She had a less than adequate grasp of the subject . This expression uses less in the sense of “a smaller quantity, number, or extent than is implied,” a usage dating from about a.d. 1000. The same sense appears in less than no time , a hyperbolic term for a very short time (as in Don't worry, he'll be here in less than no time ) that dates from about 1800.

Example Sentences

"Sub-diurnal forecasting, meaning less than 24 hours, is mainly used for evacuation. This method gives us more accurate forecast probabilities compared to those that make predictions daily or over multiple days," Ahmed says.

From Science Daily

If the Senate confirms Matt Gaetz, the message that victims matter less than the powerful men who abuse them will echo through Main Justice and out across the country.

From Slate

"There is a set of predicted transcription start sites for over 50,000 genes in soy, but based on our new study, less than 3% of those predicted transcription initiation sites actually are correct," Ma said.

From Science Daily

Elton John’s Broadway musical about the late Tammy Faye Messner, who was known as “the first lady of televangelism” when she was Tammy Faye Bakker in the 1970s and ’80s, is packing it up less than a week after its Nov. 14 opening.

From Los Angeles Times

For example, Prevelo Bikes moved production to Taiwan due to the initial Trump tariffs in 2019, which increased their costs but by less than if they continued to import from China.

From Salon