: indicating a quantity whose algebraically positive and negative values serve to bracket a range of values either alone or when added to and subtracted from a given number
measured with an accuracy of plus or minus 3 feet
: more or less, approximately
a dance for singles plus or minus age 30
Synonyms
Examples of plus or minus in a Sentence
Adverb
I have plus or minus five dollars in change.
Recent Examples on the Web
Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 3 Apr. 2024
The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.
—Bryan Pietsch, Washington Post, 27 Mar. 2024
The findings, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points, roughly mirrored the state’s 2020 election results in which President Joe Biden won 55% of the vote.
—Nick Coltrain, The Denver Post, 9 Feb. 2024
The survey was taken by landline and cellphone on March 8-11 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
—Javier Zarracina, USA TODAY, 17 Mar. 2024
The margin of sampling error for the presidential ballot choice question is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points among registered voters.
—Ruth Igielnik, New York Times, 3 Mar. 2024
That puts the two candidates in a statistical tie, with the Berkeley poll’s margin of error of plus or minus 2x percentage points
The survey, conducted Feb. 22 to 27, show that Garvey and Schiff appear to be distancing themselves from the rest of the field.
—David Lightman, Sacramento Bee, 1 Mar. 2024
The survey of 500 Italian adults had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.
—Colleen Barry, Quartz, 8 Mar. 2024
The poll was conducted between March 2-5 and has a credibility interval of plus or minus 4.2%.
—The Indianapolis Star, 7 Mar. 2024
Sarah Elbeshbishi, USA TODAY, 23 Mar. 2023
The poll surveyed 805 adults via telephone interviews from March 16-20, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 5.8 percentage points.
—Bridget Bowman, NBC News, 21 Mar. 2023
The Ipsos phone survey of 1,004 adults is considered accurate to within plus or minus four percentage points.
—Arkansas Online, 26 Nov. 2022
Pre-crash, that cycle took about 11 hours and 55 minutes, but post-crash, that orbit time has dropped to 11 hours and 23 minutes (plus or minus a two-minute margin of uncertainty).
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 11 Oct. 2022
Here, purchaser simply put money in, and got money back, plus or minus their investment return, and less fees and expenses.
—Jay Adkisson, Forbes, 7 Mar. 2023
With only about 340 individuals — plus or minus seven — remaining, according to a report released in the fall by the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium, the whales are VIP visitors to the region's waters.
—Heather McCarron, USA TODAY, 6 Mar. 2023
For the third quarter, the company guided for revenue of $2 billion, plus or minus $150 million.
—Kathryn Hardison, WSJ, 26 Jan. 2023
Results from the full survey have a margin of error of plus or minus 6 percentage points.
—Dallas News, 18 Jan. 2023
Adjective
The poll, taken between March 5 and 6, sampled 1,350 voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.6 percentage points.
—Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 3 Apr. 2024
The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.
—Bryan Pietsch, Washington Post, 27 Mar. 2024
The findings, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points, roughly mirrored the state’s 2020 election results in which President Joe Biden won 55% of the vote.
—Nick Coltrain, The Denver Post, 9 Feb. 2024
The survey was taken by landline and cellphone on March 8-11 and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.
—Javier Zarracina, USA TODAY, 17 Mar. 2024
The margin of sampling error for the presidential ballot choice question is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points among registered voters.
—Ruth Igielnik, New York Times, 3 Mar. 2024
That puts the two candidates in a statistical tie, with the Berkeley poll’s margin of error of plus or minus 2x percentage points
The survey, conducted Feb. 22 to 27, show that Garvey and Schiff appear to be distancing themselves from the rest of the field.
—David Lightman, Sacramento Bee, 1 Mar. 2024
The survey of 500 Italian adults had a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.
—Colleen Barry, Quartz, 8 Mar. 2024
The poll was conducted between March 2-5 and has a credibility interval of plus or minus 4.2%.
—The Indianapolis Star, 7 Mar. 2024
Adverb
The survey of 1,582 adults, taken March 16-20 online has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.7%.
—Sarah Elbeshbishi, USA TODAY, 23 Mar. 2023
The poll surveyed 805 adults via telephone interviews from March 16-20, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 5.8 percentage points.
—Bridget Bowman, NBC News, 21 Mar. 2023
The Ipsos phone survey of 1,004 adults is considered accurate to within plus or minus four percentage points.
—Arkansas Online, 26 Nov. 2022
Pre-crash, that cycle took about 11 hours and 55 minutes, but post-crash, that orbit time has dropped to 11 hours and 23 minutes (plus or minus a two-minute margin of uncertainty).
—Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 11 Oct. 2022
Here, purchaser simply put money in, and got money back, plus or minus their investment return, and less fees and expenses.
—Jay Adkisson, Forbes, 7 Mar. 2023
With only about 340 individuals — plus or minus seven — remaining, according to a report released in the fall by the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium, the whales are VIP visitors to the region's waters.
—Heather McCarron, USA TODAY, 6 Mar. 2023
For the third quarter, the company guided for revenue of $2 billion, plus or minus $150 million.
—Kathryn Hardison, WSJ, 26 Jan. 2023
Results from the full survey have a margin of error of plus or minus 6 percentage points.
—Dallas News, 18 Jan. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'plus or minus.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near plus or minus
Cite this Entry
“Plus or minus.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/plus%20or%20minus. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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