plus or minus

adjective

Definition of plus or minus

 (Entry 1 of 2)

: 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

plus or minus

adverb

Definition of plus or minus (Entry 2 of 2)

: more or less, approximately a dance for singles plus or minus age 30

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Synonyms & Antonyms for plus or minus

Synonyms: Adverb

about, approximately, around, like, more or less, much, near, roughly, say, some

Antonyms: Adverb

exactly, precisely

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Examples of plus or minus in a Sentence

Adverb

I have plus or minus five dollars in change.

Recent Examples on the Web: Adverb

The survey released Tuesday had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY, "Donald Trump slams 'fixed' poll showing his latest job approval rating is at 38%," 10 Sep. 2019 It is said to have a margin of error of plus or minus 3.9 percentage points for the general-election matchup and 5.3 percent for the Democratic primary question. oregonlive, "Biden leads Trump by 9 percentage points in key battleground of Wisconsin, poll finds," 5 Sep. 2019 The Quinnipiac poll, conducted Aug. 21-26, and the Suffolk poll, conducted Aug. 20-25, had margins of sampling error of plus or minus five percentage points among Democratic voters. Katie Glueck, New York Times, "Polling Picture Comes Into Focus: Biden Leads a 3-Way Race at the Top," 28 Aug. 2019 The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points. Phil Matier, SFChronicle.com, "All that noise coming from Washington turning Calif. voters numb," 4 Aug. 2019 That’s within the margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points . Gregory Korte, BostonGlobe.com, "Half of American voters view Trump as a racist, a new poll finds," 30 July 2019 The overall results have an error margin of plus or minus five percentage points. Scott Clement, Washington Post, "Unauthorized immigrants face public backlash in Mexico, survey finds," 17 July 2019 The survey includes 519 Democrats and Democratic leaners with a margin of error of plus or minus 5.7 percentage points, including the design effect. Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, "California primary: Kamala Harris takes the lead over Joe Biden in new poll," 17 July 2019 The online survey of 505 state residents was conducted in late June and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent. Russell Blair, courant.com, "Survey: Nearly half of Connecticut residents polled plan to leave the state within the next five years," 17 July 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'plus or minus.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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First Known Use of plus or minus

Adjective

1926, in the meaning defined above

Adverb

1849, in the meaning defined above

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