Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English.
1.
You use ~ 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 ~ a cigarette packet...
Indian skins age far more slowly ~ American or Italian ones.
PREP: compar PREP group
•
Than is also a conjunction.
He wished he could have helped her more ~ he did...
Sometimes patients are more depressed six months later ~ when they first hear the bad news.
CONJ: compar CONJ cl
2.
You use ~ 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 ~ an hour.
...the three-match Test series in England, starting in less ~ two months time...
PREP: more/less PREP n
3.
You use ~ in order to link two parts of a contrast, for example in order to state a preference.
The arrangement was more a formality ~ a genuine partnership of two nations...
CONJ
4.
less ~: see less
more ~: see more
more often ~ not: see often
other ~: see other
rather ~: see rather