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than
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
than
conjunction
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
be bigger/smaller/worse etc than you had imagined
▪ The job interview proved to be much worse than I had imagined it would be.
be less a ... than a ... (=be not so much like one thing as another)
▪ ‘Will you please come with me?’ It was less a request than a command.
be more than (a) coincidence (=there is some other explanation)
▪ When I saw him a third time, I realized it was more than just coincidence.
be more than sb can bear
▪ He sometimes felt the grief was more than he could bear.
do more harm than good (=used to say that something had a bad effect rather than a good one)
▪ I followed his advice but it did more harm than good.
do more harm than good (=cause more problems rather than improve a situation)
▪ If you don’t warm up properly, exercise may do more harm than good.
got more than...bargained for
▪ The thief got more than he bargained for, as Mr Cox tripped him up with his walking stick.
higher/larger/less etc than normal
▪ The journey took longer than normal.
knew better than to
▪ Eva knew better than to interrupt one of Mark’s jokes.
less than 10/100 etc
▪ a distance of less than 100 metres
less than perfect (=not perfect)
▪ So many excellent writers, for example Byron and Keats, were less than perfect spellers.
like/love/enjoy nothing better (than)
▪ She likes nothing better than a nice long walk along the beach.
little more/better etc (than sth)
▪ His voice was little more than a whisper.
longer/higher/worse etc than usual
▪ It is taking longer than usual for orders to reach our customers.
more dead than alive (=very badly hurt or ill and almost dead)
▪ He was swept up onto a beach after three days at sea, more dead than alive.
more of a hindrance than a help
▪ A degree is more of a hindrance than a help in British industry.
more than 10/100 etc
▪ Our plane took off more than two hours late.
▪ More than a quarter of the students never finished their courses.
more than adequate
▪ The lunchtime menu is more than adequate to satisfy the biggest appetite.
more than content
▪ Dr Belson had been more than content for them to deal with any difficulties.
more than enough
▪ You’ve had more than enough time to make all the preparations.
more than likely (=very likely)
▪ She'll be late, more than likely.
more than make up for
▪ The good days more than make up for the bad ones.
more than one occasion (=more than once)
▪ She stayed out all night on more than one occasion.
more/less fortunate than sb
▪ We’ve been more fortunate than a lot of farmers.
more...than I care to remember (=a lot of them)
▪ I’ve experienced more reorganizations than I care to remember.
no less a person than
▪ The message came from no less a person than the prime minister.
prevention is better than cureBritish English, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure American English (= used to say that it is better to prevent illness than to cure it)
prevention is better than cure (=it is better to stop something bad from happening than to remove the problem once it has happened)
▪ You know what they say, prevention is better than cure.
sth is more bother than it’s worth (=it is too difficult to be worth doing)
there’s nothing worse than ...
▪ There’s nothing worse than lending something and not getting it back.
worse than useless (=not useful, and causing harm or problems)
▪ It would be worse than useless to try and complain about him.
PHRASES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
a fate worse than death
▪ I knew that Grandma's visit would be a fate worse than death.
▪ After all, she didn't know him, and a fate worse than death might just be awaiting her.
▪ It certainly wasn't because he was trying to save her from a Fate Worse than Death.
▪ There are various Pelagias who are known as penitent harlots or virgin martyrs who died to escape a fate worse than death.
▪ We've even growled at the horse, and threatened it with a fate worse than death, but to no avail!
actions speak louder than words
▪ As ever, though, actions speak louder than words.
▪ In any event the user's opinion of a product is reflected in the standard achieved so actions speak louder than words.
▪ In the kitchen, actions speak louder than words.
▪ On this playing field, actions speak louder than words.
be more of sth than sth
▪ Inside, the piers were massive and there were more of them than in examples further west.
▪ Soon there will be more of us than there are of you.
▪ The boundaries of the study area are more of convenience than purely zoogeographical, because of the paucity of material from certain regions.
▪ The role of the computer analysts may be more of facilitator than designer, helping to realise the users' wishes.
▪ There are more of them than there are of us.
▪ There was more of everything than there were people.
▪ There were more of them than there used to be, he was sure of it.
▪ To my eyes there was more of strength than refinement in the face ....
be more sinned against than sinning
be more sth than sth
▪ A drop in voltage can be more serious than a power cut.
▪ Mission-driven organizations are more efficient than rule-driven organizations, for one.
▪ She was more naked than if she were wearing nothing.
▪ Some rocks are more porous than others.
▪ The disease of tuberculosis is more dangerously infectious than that of leprosy....
▪ There are more antique stores than supermarkets, more cafes than gas stations.
▪ When dealing with only a few dollars, these kind of interactions can be more amusing than annoying.
▪ Yet, when you came down to it, what was more natural than murder?
be nothing less than sth
▪ Japan's economic recovery was seen as nothing less than a miracle.
▪ They way they treat their workers is nothing short of barbaric.
▪ But of course to Miss Hoity Toity Grenfell, it was nothing less than she expected.
▪ He come to the remarkable conclusion that Ardakke was nothing less than the setting for the next evolutionary step for mankind.
▪ In such context, between such gilt-lettered cloth-bound boards, the concession was nothing less than munificent.
▪ It is nothing less than an opportunity to save or change the world.
▪ Learn each week in 60 seconds why fashion is nothing less than a full-time job!
▪ Milosevic is nothing less than a traitor.
▪ The experience of being on Iona is nothing less than magical and I am moved to tears.
▪ The result, and the acceptance of it, is nothing less than an outrage.
better (to be) safe than sorry
▪ I think I'll take my umbrella along - better safe than sorry.
▪ Anyway, better safe than sorry.
▪ The overall message of precaution-better safe than sorry-has intuitive appeal.
better Red than dead
better late than never
▪ "The pictures have finally arrived.'' "Well, better late than never.''
▪ While ongoing self-monitoring is urged, it is always better late than never.
better late than never
▪ While ongoing self-monitoring is urged, it is always better late than never.
better the devil you know (than the devil you don't)
bite off more than you can chew
▪ Many kids who leave home to live alone find they have bitten off more than they can chew.
blood is thicker than water
▪ For most cannibals, blood is thicker than water.
can't say fairer than that
easier said than done
go one better (than sb)
▪ Beth Wolff, president of her own residential real estate company, likes to go one better.
▪ But even if Forbes loses his quest for the Republican presidential nomination, he may still go one better than his father.
▪ Ford went one better and put 60 two-stroke Fiestas on the roads.
▪ Laker's return of 9 for 37 was outstanding, but he was to go one better when the Aussies followed on.
▪ Like an aphid, then, the caterpillar employs ants as bodyguards, but it goes one better.
▪ She goes one better than last year.
▪ The Bristol & West have now gone one better than the standard endowment mortgage.
▪ They have followed each other up the ladder, but whenever he has reached the same rung she has gone one better.
greater/more/better etc than the sum of its parts
▪ Or is the organisation more than the sum of its parts?
half a loaf (is better than none)
have eyes bigger than your belly
have had more than your fair share of sth
▪ Tim's had more than his fair share of bad luck this year.
have more than one string to your bow
hotter/colder/better etc than ever
▪ And that incentive was increased when they got personal recognition and satisfaction from doing it better than ever before.
▪ He says the new films are better than ever.
▪ Organised by the Alton and District Arts Council, the week promises to be better than ever.
▪ The moviemaking machine that Walt Disney created sixty years ago is working better than ever today.
▪ The National Health Service is now better than ever.
▪ The opportunities now are better than ever.
▪ This year's attractions are bigger and better than ever, with events running from Tuesday to Saturday.
▪ Watermen talked about their catches so far this year, which they said have been better than ever.
in less than no time
it's more than my job's worth
larger than life
▪ Graham was one of the larger-than-life legends of the rock era.
▪ Floyd Elgin Dominy, larger than life.
▪ He was an ebullient, larger than life denial of all that was Right: he chain-smoked and drank too much.
▪ He was for me larger than life.
▪ Nothing else in existence whatsoever, but there, all alone and larger than life, a huge carrot.
▪ Pitt, as always, is larger than life.
▪ She was like a larger than life fantasy that had just come true.
▪ Shrimpton was in the mid-forties, overweight, and slightly larger than life, a sociable type.
▪ Worrying about your problems, which seem larger than life at that time of night, is hard to resist.
less than helpful/honest/enthusiastic etc
▪ Although he did not reject a fact-finding mission outright, Major was clearly less than enthusiastic about the idea.
▪ But in the same interview Mr Dole, as is his way, was a little less than helpful to the president.
▪ But the way in which they are present may be less than helpful.
▪ In this dilemma, Eliot was less than helpful to his apologists.
▪ Not surprisingly, the reaction of local residents to the schemes was less than enthusiastic.
▪ The refugees are naturally less than enthusiastic about this.
▪ Those who had known him from that earlier period, however, were less than enthusiastic about his elevation.
light years ahead/better etc than sth
more ... than the rest/the others/everything else put together
more in sorrow than in anger
more sth than you've had hot dinners
more than a little
▪ Educators, meanwhile, often view business with more than a little suspicion, distrust, and envy.
▪ Gordon was, he admitted, more than a little relieved.
▪ He was more than a little disappointed that his son was not athletic.
▪ It may be no more than a little park near work or a church that you stop by during lunch hour.
▪ Love: the word would be utterly meaningless in this context; no more than a little blast of sound.
▪ Many of these ideas depend more than a little on what you believe in.
▪ The ex-boyfriend is more than a little interested.
more than a little/not a little
more than happy/welcome/likely etc
▪ And as to the finish, well, they'd be more than happy for you to check the results for yourself.
▪ For the most part, gallery staffers are more than happy to answer questions and discuss artists.
▪ If the leader is open, receptive, and responsive to you, the others will more than likely follow suit.
▪ If this is not possible, then most printers are more than happy to visit enquirers.
▪ The accident, as it turns out, was a broken mirror and more than likely a shortage of time.
▪ The Cap'n had been to Jarman House once ... would be coming again more than likely.
▪ They spend the time getting space for some new person who more than likely will leave.
▪ We trooped along and he more than likely brought his mate John Grey along with him.
no fewer than
▪ I tried to contact him no fewer than ten times.
no more ... than
▪ Bob Dole Wednesday, is that no more than 16 percent of independents will vote.
▪ For no more than church religion did public religion live up to what its creeds professed.
▪ For perceived health values there were five items; no more than two responses were allowed to be missing.
▪ For the believer the Kingdom as a heavenly reality is no more than one generation away.
▪ He resented Michael Banks, but no more than he resented anyone else more famous than he was.
▪ The moon still hung in the sky but was no more now than a white stain.
▪ They were no more than survivals from the past.
no more than
▪ David watched the car drive slowly away, until it was no more than a speck in the distance.
▪ It's no more than you deserve.
▪ It was little more than a scratch.
▪ We were standing no more than 10 yards away from the scene of the crime and we didn't realize it.
▪ And no more than one in twenty earned a college degree.
▪ But they do not necessarily conclude that a thing is no more than the sum of its attributes.
▪ Dunbar had said no more than the truth, the archers could do it all.
▪ Here, then, no more than a few points in passing.
▪ Historical incidents were no more than superficial disturbances of the established order or recurring events of unchanging significance.
▪ It all came from the idea that a woman was no more than a useful object for a man.
▪ Keep it brief no more than two typed pages.
▪ The two year ban which he received has been no more than a minor inconvenience to him.
no sooner had/did ... than
no sooner said than done
none other than sb
▪ Another of McGrath's novels, Asylum, is being adapted for the screen by none other than Stephen King.
▪ Faithless is the result of a close collaboration between Ullmann and her scriptwriter, who is none other than Ingmar Bergman.
▪ It includes an early set of variations by none other than Ludwig van Beethoven, the program's one big name.
▪ Its components are none other than the economic, political, military, royal, and bureaucratic branches of the social order.
▪ Out of this union Persephone bears none other than Dionysos.
▪ Sources say Gumbel was summoned there by none other than the potentate of Microsoft himself, Bill Gates.
▪ That haunted offspring turns out to be none other than large Lawrence, in this raucous spoof of trash television.
▪ Why, look, gentlemen, it is none other than our young Pascal.
none other than sb
▪ Another of McGrath's novels, Asylum, is being adapted for the screen by none other than Stephen King.
▪ Faithless is the result of a close collaboration between Ullmann and her scriptwriter, who is none other than Ingmar Bergman.
▪ It includes an early set of variations by none other than Ludwig van Beethoven, the program's one big name.
▪ Its components are none other than the economic, political, military, royal, and bureaucratic branches of the social order.
▪ Out of this union Persephone bears none other than Dionysos.
▪ Sources say Gumbel was summoned there by none other than the potentate of Microsoft himself, Bill Gates.
▪ That haunted offspring turns out to be none other than large Lawrence, in this raucous spoof of trash television.
▪ Why, look, gentlemen, it is none other than our young Pascal.
not later than sth
▪ Bookings made less than four days in advance must be paid for not later than fifteen minutes before the performance.
▪ Copy for inclusion should reach the Editor not later than 14 February 1994.
▪ I have circulated the request to the various Regional Council service departments asking them to respond not later than 18 December 1992.
▪ Nominations must be supported by three members of the National Trust and must reach the Secretary not later than 15 June.
▪ Nominations should be sent to the Director-General to arrive not later than 30 November.
▪ The missed approach procedure must be commenced not later than this time. 6.
▪ This must happen once in each Parliament, usually not later than thirty-six months after the last general election.
not merely/rather than merely
not/no more than sth
▪ The house is no more than ten minutes from the beach.
▪ The insurance covers not more than five days in the hospital.
▪ Although their investigations are supposed to take no more than two weeks, they often stretch to several months.
▪ But it is no more than a seed in 1215.
▪ Send in a good quality tape with no more than four songs.
▪ Some were no more than motionless translucent blobs.
▪ The crystal was no more than a glimmering outline in the darkness.
▪ Their bosses view them as no more than glorified typists and they are denied career opportunities.
▪ They are no more than about 20% efficient.
▪ They were no more than survivals from the past.
nothing less than sth
▪ The change in Bob's behavior has been nothing less than a miracle.
▪ He is aware that what he is involved in now is nothing less than Thatcherite self-help.
▪ It is nothing less than an opportunity to save or change the world.
▪ It is nothing less than national economic and social suicide.
▪ The result, and the acceptance of it, is nothing less than an outrage.
▪ There is nothing less than a cultural cover-up about depression in men.
▪ They had stumbled in upon what was quite clearly nothing less than a pagan sacrifice.
▪ This gave her hope, for it was nothing less than a re-birth that Maggie was aiming for.
other than
Other than at football matches, people sing less than they used to.
▪ He doesn't eat out at all, other than at Burger King.
▪ Sam refused to discuss the argument, other than to say that Diane had called him 'gutless'.
▪ The music was a little loud, but other than that it was a great concert.
▪ You should get a little stiffness, but other than that, there should be no side effects.
▪ For brain functions other than language, most of what we know comes from studies of the brains of other animals.
▪ He insists the designs have no grand meaning, other than that they appealed to his eye.
▪ It was the greatest honor, other than getting accepted in heaven.
▪ Its components are none other than the economic, political, military, royal, and bureaucratic branches of the social order.
▪ No known clockmaker, other than self-taught Harrison himself, lived or worked anywhere around north Lincolnshire in the early eighteenth century.
▪ That haunted offspring turns out to be none other than large Lawrence, in this raucous spoof of trash television.
▪ There was no reason for this other than a certain unwillingness to emerge from our bond trading shell.
▪ You can also create mailboxes other than the simple in and out trays and mark them in however you want.
rather than
Rather than driving around all day looking for somewhere to park, why don't you take a bus into town?
Rather than fly directly to LA, why not stop in San Francisco first?
▪ Bryson decided to quit rather than accept the new rules.
▪ I prefer cooking with olive oil rather than butter.
▪ She uses lemon rather than vinegar in her salad dressings.
▪ And two who tip the scales to the angelic side are proposing to use bombing to plant forests rather than destroy them.
▪ Birds excrete uric acid rather than urea because it is an insoluble solid.
▪ It points us to the theistic hypothesis rather than to the necessity hypothesis.
▪ It presumes that reality is dynamic rather than static, and therefore seeks relationships between ideas, to aim at synthesis.
▪ Lovers, for example, are generally kept apart by wars or political circumstances rather than by simple misunderstandings.
▪ Mr O'Connor, however, stressed the need for more effective policing rather than police numbers.
▪ There is no important theory-based reason why these countries rather than others were selected.
▪ We merely suggest or advise rather than give orders.
rather you/him/her/them than me
sb could do worse than do sth
▪ A woman could do worse than be a nurse.
▪ He could do worse than spend his evening keeping an eye on her.
▪ In groping for useful precedents, one could do worse than heed the tale of a man named Sherwood Rowland.
▪ The West could do worse than to base its policy towards the Middle East on that aspiration.
▪ You could do worse than take a leaf out of the health economists' book.
sb would sooner do sth (than)
sb's bark is worse than their bite
there's more than one way to skin a cat
there's more to sb/sth than meets the eye
▪ "I didn't know he wrote poetry." "Yes -- he also does painting. There's more to him than meets the eye."
▪ It looks like a simple case of burglary, but there may be more to it than meets the eye.
▪ People think of Bradford as a dull industrial city, but there is more to it than meets the eye.
two heads are better than one
whiter than white
you can't say fairer than that
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪ It's a nice car, but it costs more than we want to pay.
▪ You carry it - you're stronger than I am.
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Than

Than \Than\ ([th][a^]n), conj. [OE. than, thon, then, thanne, thonne, thenne, than, then, AS. [eth]anne, [eth]onne, [eth][ae]nne; akin to D. dan, OHG. danne, G. dann then, denn than, for, Goth. [thorn]an then, and to E. the, there, that. See That, and cf. Then.] A particle expressing comparison, used after certain adjectives and adverbs which express comparison or diversity, as more, better, other, otherwise, and the like. It is usually followed by the object compared in the nominative case. Sometimes, however, the object compared is placed in the objective case, and than is then considered by some grammarians as a preposition. Sometimes the object is expressed in a sentence, usually introduced by that; as, I would rather suffer than that you should want.

Behold, a greater than Solomon is here.
--Matt. xii. 42.

Which when Beelzebub perceived, than whom, Satan except, none higher sat.
--Milton.

It's wiser being good than bad; It's safer being meek than fierce; It's fitter being sane than mad.
--R. Browning.

Than

Than \Than\, adv. Then. See Then. [Obs.]
--Gower.

Thanne longen folk to gon on pilgrimages.
--Chaucer.

Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
than

Old English þan, conjunctive particle used after a comparative adjective or adverb, from þanne, þænne, þonne "then" (see then). Developed from the adverb then, and not distinguished from it by spelling until c.1700.\n

\nThe earliest use is in West Germanic comparative forms introducing the second member, i.e. bigger than (compare Dutch dan, German denn), which suggests a semantic development from the demonstrative sense of then: A is bigger than B, evolving from A is bigger, then ("after that") B. Or the word may trace to Old English þonne "when, when as," such as "When as" B is big, A is more (so).

Wiktionary
than

adv. (context now chiefly dialectal English) At that time; then. conj. 1 (context obsolete outside dialects usually used with for English) because; for. 2 (non-gloss definition: Used in comparisons, to introduce the basis of comparison.) prep. introduces a comparison, and is associated with comparatives, and with words such as ''more'', ''less'', and ''fewer''. Typically, it seeks to measure the force of an adjective or similar description between two predicates.

WordNet
Wikipedia
Than

Than is a grammatical particle analyzed as both a conjunction and a preposition in the English language. It introduces a comparison, and is associated with comparatives and with words such as more, less, and fewer. Typically, it measures the force of an adjective or similar description between two predicates.

Than (disambiguation)

Than is a grammatical particle of the English language.

Than may also refer to:

  • Than, Gujarat, a town in India
  • Carl von Than (1834-1908), Hungarian chemist
  • Mór Than (1828-1899), Hungarian painter
  • Than Sina, Cambodian politician elected to the National Assembly in 2003
  • Ohn Than (born 1946), Burmese activist for democracy
  • Than Htay, Burmese government minister and retired brigadier general
  • Than Nyein (politician) (1937-2014), Burmese politician and doctor
  • Than Shwe (born 1933), Burmese politician and general
  • Than Tun (1923-2005): Burmese historian
  • Dinh Van Than, Vanuatan businessman and former politician
  • Nguyễn Hải Thần (1878-1959), Vietnamese revolutionary and military leader
  • Than, Kandi Dholran, a village

Usage examples of "than".

Weavers had been responsible for the practice of killing Aberrant children for more than a hundred years.

I that the high families would sooner see an Aberrant on the throne than a Weaver.

An Aberrant whose Aberration made her better than those who despised her.

And he has to answer for much more than aiding and abetting you with your plot to fool the old man.

The conflict, grown beyond the scope of original plans, had become nothing less than a fratricidal war between the young king and the Count of Poitou for the succession to the Angevin empire, a ghastly struggle in which Henry was obliged to take a living share, abetting first one and then the other of his furious sons.

UNMIK, with European Union assistance, did intervene - in setting up institutions and abetting economic legislation - it has done more harm than good.

The name of his partially duped accomplice and abettor in this last marvelous assault, is no other than PHILIP LYNCH, Editor and Proprietor of the Gold Hill News.

So that meseems thou mayest abide here in a life far better than wandering amongst uncouth folk, perilous and cruel.

For I spake with thee, it is nigh two years agone, when thou wert abiding the coming of our Lady in the castle yonder But now I see of thee that thou art brighter-faced, and mightier of aspect than aforetime, and it is in my mind that the Lady of Abundance must have loved thee and holpen thee, and blessed thee with some great blessing.

Hutchinson has little leisure for much praise of the natural beauty of sky and landscape, but now and then in her work there appears an abiding sense of the pleasantness of the rural world--in her day an implicit feeling rather than an explicit.

But for the most part, the kisses the men bestowed upon the customers were deeper than Abie would have considered appropriate after a first date.

And even if he were to relapse into the same heresy which he had abjured, he would still not be liable to the said penalty, although he would be more severely punished than would have been the case if he had not abjured.

He was accounted a Master of Sorcere, the only Baenre so recognized other than old Gromph himself, and was reputed to be an abjurer of some skill.

But, as it was, he ably supported the exposed flank that Johnston so skillfully attacked, won the battle, inflicted losses a good deal larger than his own, and gained his ulterior objective as well as if there had not been a fight at all.

On this now leaped and twisted a more indescribable horde of human abnormality than any but a Sime or an Angarola could paint.