THAN


Meaning of THAN in English

transcription, транскрипция: [ ðən, STRONG ðæn ]

Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English.

1.

You use than after a comparative adjective or adverb in order to link two parts of a comparison.

The radio only weighs a few ounces and is smaller than a cigarette packet...

Indian skins age far more slowly than American or Italian ones.

PREP : compar PREP group

Than is also a conjunction.

He wished he could have helped her more than he did...

Sometimes patients are more depressed six months later than when they first hear the bad news.

CONJ : compar CONJ cl

2.

You use than when you are stating a number, quantity, or value approximately by saying that it is above or below another number, quantity, or value.

They talked on the phone for more than an hour.

...the three-match Test series in England, starting in less than two months time...

PREP : more/less PREP n

3.

You use than in order to link two parts of a contrast, for example in order to state a preference.

The arrangement was more a formality than a genuine partnership of two nations...

CONJ

4.

less than: see less

more than: see more

more often than not: see often

other than: see other

rather than: see rather

Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary.      Английский словарь Коллинз COBUILD для изучающих язык на продвинутом уровне.