ENGLISH
REFERENCE

more or less

fixed phr..
B2 Upper Intermediate Oxford

fixed phr.. mostly or almost exactly. You use this when you want to say something is nearly true but not 100% perfect.

fixed phr.. an adverbial phrase indicating an approximate degree or quantity; used to qualify a statement as being substantially, though not entirely, accurate.


SIMPLE

The job is more or less finished now.

CONTEXTUAL

We have more or less decided on the guest list, though we might add one or two more people later.

COMPLEX

The new software update has more or less eliminated the security vulnerabilities that were previously identified by the technical support team.

Usage

often placed after the verb 'to be' or before a main verb to soften a claim.

Teaching tip

this phrase functions as a synonym for 'approximately' or 'roughly' but is much more common in spoken English to show a relaxed attitude toward precision.

Pitfall

more and lessmore or lessthe phrase always uses the conjunction 'or' to show a range of possibility.

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