much

1 of 3

adjective

more ˈmȯr How to pronounce much (audio) ; most ˈmōst How to pronounce much (audio)
1
a
: great in quantity, amount, extent, or degree
there is much truth in what you say
taken too much time
b
: great in importance or significance
nothing much happened
2
obsolete : many in number
3
: more than is expected or acceptable : more than enough
the large pizza is a bit much for one person

much

2 of 3

adverb

more; most
1
a(1)
: to a great degree or extent : considerably
much happier
(2)
: very
much gratified
b(1)
(2)
: by or for a long time
didn't get to work much before noon
c
: by far
was much the brightest student
2
: nearly, approximately
looks much the way his father did

much

3 of 3

noun

1
: a great quantity, amount, extent, or degree
She gave away much of what she owned
2
: something considerable or impressive
was not much to look at
Phrases
too much
1
: wonderful, exciting
That rock concert was too much!
2
as much
1
: the same in quantity
not quite as much money
2
: to the same degree

Examples of much in a Sentence

Adverb The new car is much better on gas mileage. They both talk too much. Thank you so much for your help. He is much interested in the project. They were much pleased by the compliment. She doesn't visit her family much. The town looks much the same. We came to much the same conclusion. We left the house much as we found it. Noun much of what people think they know about words is inaccurate or downright false
Recent Examples on the Web
Adjective
For much of the past decade, as soaring numbers of migrants crossed illegally and expressed fear, most were able to pass the initial screening, which sent their cases to U.S. immigration courts. Nick Miroff, Washington Post, 17 Mar. 2024 That pretty much sums up Perry, a player who became great because of his work ethic. Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 17 Mar. 2024 Koo keeps his philanthropic efforts low-key, much like his investments. Faye Bradley, Variety, 16 Mar. 2024 Going against Modi is the main opposition Indian National Congress, which has governed the country for much of the 77 years since independence and last year formed an alliance with other parties. Rhea Mogul, CNN, 16 Mar. 2024 Her original poppy garden reseeded and spread down the river and over much of Old Town. Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 16 Mar. 2024 The system then slowly spread to Oceanside, Carlsbad, San Marcos, Vista, Valley Center and Rancho Bernardo, delivering hail in some spots, thunder and lightning in others, and rain across much of the region. Gary Robbins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Mar. 2024 The storm shut down a highway that connects Denver to Colorado ski resorts for much of the day Thursday, stranding some people in their cars for hours. Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports, arkansasonline.com, 16 Mar. 2024 For much of its existence, the Putin system depended upon a disengaged citizenry. Joshua Yaffa, The New Yorker, 16 Mar. 2024
Adverb
Jones belabored this point as well, once again citing packing too much and how a broken zipper can quickly turn messy if security is unable to quickly re-pack your belongings. Kelsey Chapman, ABC News, 18 Mar. 2024 Bradford Betz is a Fox News Digital breaking reporter covering crime, political issues, and much more. Bradford Betz, Fox News, 18 Mar. 2024 His relationship is in a much better place, though still a work in progress. Meagan Jordan, Rolling Stone, 18 Mar. 2024 Music How much did Seattle Swifties ‘Shake It Off’? Alexandra Del Rosario, Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2024 These very expensive images of clouds are still much cheaper than another cruise missile. Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 18 Mar. 2024 While there isn’t much Black music covered outside of reggae, music scenes were much more siloed in those days and TP focused on what its audience wanted. Jem Aswad, Variety, 18 Mar. 2024 Sources say that Minute Media intends to bring over much if not all of the SI staff, though the company is just taking over operations today and needs to take stock of where things stand with the publication. Alex Weprin, The Hollywood Reporter, 18 Mar. 2024 Of the new words, 719 are three to eight letters, which are more useful to most Scrabble players than much longer words. Joe Heim, Washington Post, 17 Mar. 2024
Noun
Ji-Young doesn’t have to do much, and all those moments are there. Jazz Tangcay, Variety, 23 Feb. 2024 The second-place Giants didn’t do much, but entered Wednesday only 2½ games back. Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 3 Aug. 2023 One brick doesn’t do much, but a thousand bricks can build a foundation. Kristen Hartke, Washington Post, 9 May 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'much.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective, Adverb, and Noun

Middle English muche large, much, from michel, muchel, from Old English micel, mycel; akin to Old High German mihhil great, large, Latin magnus, Greek megas, Sanskrit mahat

First Known Use

Adjective

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adverb

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of much was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near much

Cite this Entry

“Much.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/much. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

much

1 of 3 adjective
more ˈmō(ə)r How to pronounce much (audio)
ˈmȯ(ə)r
; most ˈmōst How to pronounce much (audio)
1
: great in quantity, amount, or extent
has much money
takes too much time
2
: great in importance or significance
nothing much happened

much

2 of 3 adverb
more; most
1
a
: to a great or high level or extent
much happier
b
: very
much obliged
2
: just about : nearly
looks much as it did years ago

much

3 of 3 noun
1
: a great quantity, amount, extent, or part
much that was said is false
2
: something important or impressive
not much to look at

More from Merriam-Webster on much

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