I. ˈmīnəs preposition
Etymology: Middle English mynus, from Latin minus, neuter of minor smaller, less — more at minor
1. : diminished by : with the subtraction or deduction of : less
seven minus four equals three
list price minus the discount
his ideas added up to Communism minus violence — Hallam Tennyson
— compare plus
2. : deprived of : having lost : wanting : without
came out of the army minus a hand — Drew Middleton
she met him, minus the book, but carrying a … balloon — Phil Stong
II. noun
( -es )
1. : minus sign
rendered quantitative by the use of pluses, minuses, and marks denoting extreme degrees of the behavior in question — F.H.Allport
2. : a negative quantity
an overdose of philosophical … conclusions and a minus of historical or other data — J.B.Mason
3. : something (as a deficiency or defect) held to resemble a negative quantity
over against these advantages outside critics set a great minus — New Republic
III. adjective
1.
a. : requiring subtraction
the minus sign
b. : algebraically negative
a minus quantity
2. : having negative qualities or characteristics
a boy … might live in a minus neighborhood but not be a delinquent — Edwin Powers & Helen Witmer
plus or minus reactions to women … or men with beards — Jerome Frank
3.
a. : reacting sexually to a morphologically indistinguished but physiologically separable plus form — used of lower fungi in which maleness and femaleness are indeterminable as such; compare heterothallic , mating type
b. : of, relating to, or exhibiting such a sexual character
4. : of lesser quality than — used postpositively
hesitated to give it a grade so high as C minus — American Literature
5. : smaller than a specified size
stocks of minus 2-inch stone — Pit & Quarry
all powders were minus 200 mesh — American Journal of Veterinary Research
6. : absorbing principally light of its own hue — used of subtractive color primaries