ENGLISH
REFERENCE

or so

fixed phr..
B2 Upper Intermediate Oxford

fixed phr.. you use this after a number or amount to show that it is not exact. It means 'approximately' or 'about'.

fixed phr.. a post-modifying phrase used to indicate an approximate quantity, duration, or value; functions as an adverbial of degree.


SIMPLE

I will be there in an hour or so.

CONTEXTUAL

There were fifty or so people at the meeting, though I didn't count them exactly.

COMPLEX

The manuscript dates back to the fourteenth century or so, although scholars continue to debate the precise decade of its completion.

Usage

always follows the noun or number it modifies.

Teaching tip

contrast with 'about' or 'around' which precede the number; 'or so' is a useful tool for natural-sounding hedging in spoken English.

Pitfall

I have or so ten dollars.I have ten dollars or so.this phrase must come after the number it is describing, not before it.

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