much
♦♦♦ much /m'ʌtʃ/
1 [ADV] ADV after v
You use much to indicate the great intensity, extent, or degree of something such as an action, feeling, or change. Much is usually used with `so', `too', and `very', and in negative clauses with this meaning.
She laughs too much...
Thank you very much...
My hairstyle hasn't changed much since I was five.
2 [ADV] oft with brd-neg, ADV after v
If something does not happen much, it does not happen very often.
He said that his father never talked much about the war...
Gwen had not seen her Daddy all that much, because mostly he worked on the ships...
Do you get back East much?
= often
3 [ADV] ADV compar, ADV too
You use much in front of `too' or comparative adjectives and adverbs in order to emphasize that there is a large amount of a particular quality.
The skin is much too delicate...
You'd be so much happier if you could see yourself the way I see you...
= far
4 [ADV] ADV as/like cl, ADV like n, ADV n as n, ADV n
If one thing is much the same as another thing, it is very similar to it.
The day ended much as it began...
Sheep's milk is produced in much the same way as goat's milk.
5 [DET] DET n-uncount, oft with brd-neg
You use much to indicate that you are referring to a large amount of a substance or thing.
They are grown on the hillsides in full sun, without much water...
The Home Office acknowledges that much crime goes unreported...
[PRON]
Much is also a pronoun.
...eating too much and drinking too much...
There was so much to talk about.
≠ little
[QUANT] QUANT of def-n-uncount/def-sing-n
Much is also a quantifier.
Much of the time we do not notice that we are solving problems...
She does much of her work abroad...
6 [ADV] ADV as reply
You use much in expressions such as not much, not very much, and too much when replying to questions about amounts.
`Can you hear it where you live?' He shook his head. `Not much.'...
`Do you care very much about what other people think?'--`Too much.'
7 [QUANT] with brd-neg, QUANT of n-proper/pron
If you do not see much of someone, you do not see them very often.
I don't see much of Tony nowadays...
8 [DET] how DET
You use much in the expression how much to ask questions about amounts or degrees, and also in reported clauses and statements to give information about the amount or degree of something.
How much money can I afford?...
See just how much fat and cholesterol you're eating...
[ADV] how ADV, ADV with cl, ADV compar
Much is also an adverb.
She knows how much this upsets me but she persists in doing it...
[PRON] how PRON
Much is also a pronoun.
How much do you earn?...
9 [DET] as DET n, usu as DET n as cl/group
You use much in the expression as much when you are comparing amounts.
Their aim will be to produce as much milk as possible...
10 [PHRASE]
You use much as to introduce a fact which makes something else you have just said or will say rather surprising.
Much as they hope to go home tomorrow, they're resigned to staying on until the end of the year.
11 [PHRASE] v PHR
You use as much in expressions such as `I thought as much' and `I guessed as much' after you have just been told something and you want to say that you already believed or expected it to be true.
You're waiting for a woman-I thought as much.
12 [PHRASE] PHR amount
You use as much as before an amount to suggest that it is surprisingly large.
The organisers hope to raise as much as £6m for charity.
13 [PHRASE] PHR cl/group, PHR before v
You use much less after a statement, often a negative one, to indicate that the statement is more true of the person, thing, or situation that you are going to mention next.
They are always short of water to drink, much less to bathe in...
14 [PHRASE]
You say nothing much to refer to something that is not very interesting or important.
`What was stolen?'--`Oh, nothing much.'...
15 [PHRASE] PHR n
If you describe something as not much of a particular type of thing, you mean that it is small or of poor quality.
It hasn't been much of a holiday...
16 [PHRASE] PHR n
So much for is used to indicate that you have finished talking about a subject. (SPOKEN)
Well, so much for the producers. But what of the consumers?
17 [PHRASE] PHR n
If you say so much for a particular thing, you mean that it has not been successful or helpful. (INFORMAL)
He has spent 19 million pounds, lost three cup finals and been relegated. So much for money.
18 [PHRASE] with brd-neg, PHR group, PHR before v
If you say that something is not so much one thing as another, you mean that it is more like the second thing than the first.
I don't really think of her as a daughter so much as a very good friend...
19 [PHRASE] with brd-neg, PHR before v
If you say that someone did not do so much as perform a particular action, you are emphasizing that they did not even do that, when you were expecting them to do more.
I didn't so much as catch sight of him all day long...
20 [PHRASE] PHR that
You use so much so to indicate that your previous statement is true to a very great extent, and therefore it has the result mentioned.
He himself believed in freedom, so much so that he would rather die than live without it.
21 [PHRASE] v-link PHR, oft PHR for n
If a situation or action is too much for you, it is so difficult, tiring, or upsetting that you cannot cope with it.
His inability to stay at one job for long had finally proved too much for her.
22 [PHRASE] oft PHR n
You use very much to emphasize that someone or something has a lot of a particular quality, or that the description you are about to give is particularly accurate.
...a man very much in charge of himself...
23
a bit much: see bit
not up to much: see up
1 [ADV] ADV after v
You use much to indicate the great intensity, extent, or degree of something such as an action, feeling, or change. Much is usually used with `so', `too', and `very', and in negative clauses with this meaning.
She laughs too much...
Thank you very much...
My hairstyle hasn't changed much since I was five.
2 [ADV] oft with brd-neg, ADV after v
If something does not happen much, it does not happen very often.
He said that his father never talked much about the war...
Gwen had not seen her Daddy all that much, because mostly he worked on the ships...
Do you get back East much?
= often
3 [ADV] ADV compar, ADV too
You use much in front of `too' or comparative adjectives and adverbs in order to emphasize that there is a large amount of a particular quality.
The skin is much too delicate...
You'd be so much happier if you could see yourself the way I see you...
= far
4 [ADV] ADV as/like cl, ADV like n, ADV n as n, ADV n
If one thing is much the same as another thing, it is very similar to it.
The day ended much as it began...
Sheep's milk is produced in much the same way as goat's milk.
5 [DET] DET n-uncount, oft with brd-neg
You use much to indicate that you are referring to a large amount of a substance or thing.
They are grown on the hillsides in full sun, without much water...
The Home Office acknowledges that much crime goes unreported...
[PRON]
Much is also a pronoun.
...eating too much and drinking too much...
There was so much to talk about.
≠ little
[QUANT] QUANT of def-n-uncount/def-sing-n
Much is also a quantifier.
Much of the time we do not notice that we are solving problems...
She does much of her work abroad...
6 [ADV] ADV as reply
You use much in expressions such as not much, not very much, and too much when replying to questions about amounts.
`Can you hear it where you live?' He shook his head. `Not much.'...
`Do you care very much about what other people think?'--`Too much.'
7 [QUANT] with brd-neg, QUANT of n-proper/pron
If you do not see much of someone, you do not see them very often.
I don't see much of Tony nowadays...
8 [DET] how DET
You use much in the expression how much to ask questions about amounts or degrees, and also in reported clauses and statements to give information about the amount or degree of something.
How much money can I afford?...
See just how much fat and cholesterol you're eating...
[ADV] how ADV, ADV with cl, ADV compar
Much is also an adverb.
She knows how much this upsets me but she persists in doing it...
[PRON] how PRON
Much is also a pronoun.
How much do you earn?...
9 [DET] as DET n, usu as DET n as cl/group
You use much in the expression as much when you are comparing amounts.
Their aim will be to produce as much milk as possible...
10 [PHRASE]
You use much as to introduce a fact which makes something else you have just said or will say rather surprising.
Much as they hope to go home tomorrow, they're resigned to staying on until the end of the year.
11 [PHRASE] v PHR
You use as much in expressions such as `I thought as much' and `I guessed as much' after you have just been told something and you want to say that you already believed or expected it to be true.
You're waiting for a woman-I thought as much.
12 [PHRASE] PHR amount
You use as much as before an amount to suggest that it is surprisingly large.
The organisers hope to raise as much as £6m for charity.
13 [PHRASE] PHR cl/group, PHR before v
You use much less after a statement, often a negative one, to indicate that the statement is more true of the person, thing, or situation that you are going to mention next.
They are always short of water to drink, much less to bathe in...
14 [PHRASE]
You say nothing much to refer to something that is not very interesting or important.
`What was stolen?'--`Oh, nothing much.'...
15 [PHRASE] PHR n
If you describe something as not much of a particular type of thing, you mean that it is small or of poor quality.
It hasn't been much of a holiday...
16 [PHRASE] PHR n
So much for is used to indicate that you have finished talking about a subject. (SPOKEN)
Well, so much for the producers. But what of the consumers?
17 [PHRASE] PHR n
If you say so much for a particular thing, you mean that it has not been successful or helpful. (INFORMAL)
He has spent 19 million pounds, lost three cup finals and been relegated. So much for money.
18 [PHRASE] with brd-neg, PHR group, PHR before v
If you say that something is not so much one thing as another, you mean that it is more like the second thing than the first.
I don't really think of her as a daughter so much as a very good friend...
19 [PHRASE] with brd-neg, PHR before v
If you say that someone did not do so much as perform a particular action, you are emphasizing that they did not even do that, when you were expecting them to do more.
I didn't so much as catch sight of him all day long...
20 [PHRASE] PHR that
You use so much so to indicate that your previous statement is true to a very great extent, and therefore it has the result mentioned.
He himself believed in freedom, so much so that he would rather die than live without it.
21 [PHRASE] v-link PHR, oft PHR for n
If a situation or action is too much for you, it is so difficult, tiring, or upsetting that you cannot cope with it.
His inability to stay at one job for long had finally proved too much for her.
22 [PHRASE] oft PHR n
You use very much to emphasize that someone or something has a lot of a particular quality, or that the description you are about to give is particularly accurate.
...a man very much in charge of himself...
23
a bit much: see bit
not up to much: see up