much


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much

 (mŭch)
adj. more (môr), most (mōst)
Great in quantity, degree, or extent: not much rain; much affection.
n.
1. A large quantity or amount: Much has been written.
2. Something great or remarkable: The campus wasn't much to look at.
adv. more, most
1. To a great degree or extent: much smarter.
2. Just about; almost: much the same.
3. Frequently; often: doesn't get out much.
Idiom:
as much
Almost the same: I thought as much. She said as much.

[Middle English muche, short for muchel, from Old English mycel; see meg- in Indo-European roots.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

much

(mʌtʃ)
determiner
1.
a. (usually used with a negative) a great quantity or degree of: there isn't much honey left.
b. (as pronoun): much has been learned from this.
2. a bit much informal rather excessive
3. as much exactly that: I suspected as much when I heard.
4. make much of See make of4
5. not much of not to any appreciable degree or extent: he's not much of an actor really.
6. not up to much informal of a low standard: this beer is not up to much.
7. think much of (used with a negative) to have a high opinion of: I don't think much of his behaviour.
adv
8. considerably: they're much better now.
9. practically; nearly (esp in the phrase much the same)
10. (usually used with a negative) often; a great deal: it doesn't happen much in this country.
11. much as as much as even though; although: much as I'd like to, I can't come.
adj
(predicative; usually used with a negative) impressive or important: this car isn't much.
[Old English mycel; related to Old English micel great, Old Saxon mikil, Gothic mikils; compare also Latin magnus, Greek megas]
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

much

(mʌtʃ)

adj. more, most, adj.
1. great in quantity, measure, or degree: too much cake.
n., pron.
2. a great quantity, measure, or degree: There wasn't much to do.
3. a great, important, or notable thing or matter: not much to look at.
adv.
4. to a great extent or degree: to talk too much.
5. nearly, approximately, or about: much like the others.
6. much as,
a. almost to the same degree as: Babies need love, much as they need food.
b. however much: Much as I'd like to go, I can't.
[1150–1200; Middle English muche, apocopated variant of muchel, Old English mycel; c. Old Saxon mikil, Old High German michil, Old Norse mikill (compare mickle), akin to Greek mégas large, Skt máhi great]
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

much

1. 'very much'

You use very much to say that something is true to a great extent.

I enjoyed it very much.

When very much is used with a transitive verb, it usually goes after the object. Don't use it immediately after the verb. Don't say, for example, 'I enjoyed very much the party'. Say 'I enjoyed the party very much'.

Be Careful!
In positive sentences, don't use much without very. Don't say, for example, 'I enjoyed it much' or 'We much agree' Say 'I enjoyed it very much' or 'We very much agree'.

In negative sentences, you can use much without 'very'.

I didn't like him much.
The situation is not likely to change much.
2. 'much' meaning 'often'

You can also use much in negative sentences and questions to mean 'often'.

She doesn't talk about them much.
Does he come here much?

Be Careful!
Don't use 'much' in positive sentences to mean 'often'. Don't say, for example, 'He comes here much'.

Many other words and expressions can be used to indicate degree.

3. used with comparatives

You often use much or very much in front of comparative adjectives and adverbs. For example, if you want to emphasize the difference in size between two things, you can say that one thing is much bigger or very much bigger than the other.

She was much older than me.
Now I can work much more quickly.

Much more and very much more can be used in front of a noun to emphasize the difference between two quantities or amounts.

She needs much more time to finish the job.
We had much more fun than we expected.
4. 'much too'

You use much too in front of an adjective to say that something cannot be done or achieved because someone or something has too much of a quality.

The bedrooms were much too cold.
The price is much too high for me.

Be Careful!
In sentences like these you put much in front of too, not after it. Don't say, for example, 'The bedrooms were too much cold'.

5. used as a determiner

You use much in front of an uncountable noun to talk about a large quantity or amount of something. Much is usually used like this in negative sentences, in questions, or after too, so, or as.

I don't think there is much risk involved.
Is this going to make much difference?
The President has too much power.
My only ambition is to make as much money as possible.

In positive sentences, a lot of is usually used instead of 'much', especially in conversation and less formal writing.

There is a lot of risk involved in what he's doing.
See lot

In more formal writing, much is sometimes used, especially before abstract nouns such as discussion, debate, or attention.

Much emphasis has been placed on equality of opportunity in education.
6. 'much of'

In front of it, this, or that, use much of, not 'much'.

We saw a film but I don't remember much of it.
Much of this is already possible.

You also use much of in front of a noun phrase which begins with a determiner, such as the or a, or a possessive, such as my or his.

Much of the food was vegetarian.
Carla spends much of her time helping other people.

In positive sentences, a lot of is usually used instead of 'much of', especially in conversation and less formal writing.

She spends a lot of her free time reading.
See lot
7. used as a pronoun

You can use much as a pronoun to refer to a large quantity or amount of something.

There wasn't much to do.
Much has been learned about how the brain works.

Be Careful!
You don't usually use 'much' as an object pronoun in positive sentences. Instead you use a lot. For example, don't say 'He knows much about butterflies'. Say 'He knows a lot about butterflies'.

She talks a lot about music.
I've learned a lot from him.
See lot
8. 'how much'

You use how much when you are asking the price of something.

I like that dress – how much is it?

Be Careful!
Don't use 'much' or 'much of' with plural countable nouns, to talk about a large number of people or things. Use many or many of.

See many
Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:
Noun1.much - a great amount or extentmuch - a great amount or extent; "they did much for humanity"
large indefinite amount, large indefinite quantity - an indefinite quantity that is above the average in size or magnitude
Adj.1.much - (quantifier used with mass nouns) great in quantity or degree or extent; "not much rain"; "much affection"; "much grain is in storage"
more, more than - (comparative of `much' used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning greater in size or amount or extent or degree; "more land"; "more support"; "more rain fell"; "more than a gallon"
slight, little - (quantifier used with mass nouns) small in quantity or degree; not much or almost none or (with `a') at least some; "little rain fell in May"; "gave it little thought"; "little time is left"; "we still have little money"; "a little hope remained"; "there's slight chance that it will work"; "there's a slight chance it will work"
Adv.1.much - to a great degree or extent; "she's much better now"
2.much - very; "he was much annoyed"
3.much - to a very great degree or extent; "I feel a lot better"; "we enjoyed ourselves very much"; "she was very much interested"; "this would help a great deal"
4.much - (degree adverb used before a noun phrase) for all practical purposes but not completely; "much the same thing happened every time"; "practically everything in Hinduism is the manifestation of a god"
5.much - frequently or in great quantities; "I don't drink much"; "I don't travel much"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

much

adverb
2. often, a lot, regularly, routinely, a great deal, frequently, many times, habitually, on many occasions, customarily She didn't see her father much.
determiner
1. great, a lot of, plenty of, considerable, substantial, piles of (informal), ample, abundant, copious, oodles of (informal), plenteous, sizable or sizeable amount They are grown in full sun, without much water.
great little, inadequate, insufficient, scant
pronoun
1. a lot, plenty, a great deal, lots (informal), masses (informal), loads (informal), tons (informal), heaps (informal), a good deal, an appreciable amount There was so much to talk about.
a lot little, very little, not much, not a lot, next to nothing, hardly anything, practically nothing
Quotations
"much of a muchness" [John Vanburgh & Colley Cibber The Provok'd Husband]
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

much

noun
A great deal:
Informal: barrel, heap, lot, pack, peck, pile.
Regional: power, sight.
adverb
To a considerable extent:
Idioms: by a long shot, by a wide margin, by far.
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
إلى درجَةٍ كبيرَهكثيركَثِيرٌكَثِيرَاًكثيراً، جِدا
mnohopřílištakvelmizdaleka
megetlangtlige så megetmangemegen
multa
paljon
mnogopreviše
annyiennyinagyonsok
banyak
lang-, langsamlega; miklu-mikillmikill, mikiîmjög , afskaplega
たくさん多くの大いに
대량많은매우
beveik toks patsbūti menkambūti ne kažin kokiambūti pernelyg geros nuomonės apiebūti pernelyg sunkiam
cik daudzdaudzlielā mērāļoti daudztikpat daudz
mult
mnogoprevečtolikozelo
mycket
จำนวนมากมาก
büyük miktar şeybüyük ölçüdeçok çok geççokçafazla
lắmnhiềunhiều lắm

much

[mʌtʃ]
A. ADJmucho
there isn't much timeno tenemos mucho tiempotenemos poco tiempo
much crime goes unreportedhay muchos crímenes que no se denuncian
I haven't got as much energy as youno tengo tanta energía como tú
how much sugar do you want?¿cuánto azúcar quieres?
so much teatanto té
she's got so much energytiene tanta energía
too much jamdemasiada mermelada f
we haven't got too much timeno tenemos demasiado tiempo
very muchmucho
we haven't very much timeno tenemos mucho tiempo, tenemos poco tiempo
without much moneysin mucho dinero
B. ADVERB
1. (= a lot) → mucho; (before pp) → muy
she doesn't go out muchno sale mucho
it doesn't much matter; it doesn't matter muchno importa mucho
I much regret thatsiento mucho que ...
it won't finish much before midnightno terminará mucho antes de la media noche
much bettermucho mejor
he's much richer than I am or than mees mucho más rico que yo
much pleasedmuy satisfecho
much as I would like to goa pesar de que me gustaría mucho ir, aunque me gustaría mucho ir
much as I should like topor mucho que quisiera
much as I like himaunque or a pesar de que me gusta mucho
much as he hated the ideaa pesar de lo que odiaba la idea ...
much as I respect her ideas, I still think she's wronga pesar de que respeto mucho sus ideas or aunque respeto mucho sus ideas, creo que está equivocada
however much he triespor mucho que se esfuerce
I hardly know her, much less her motherapenas la conozco, y mucho menos a su madre
not muchno mucho
thank you (ever) so muchmuchísimas gracias, muy agradecido
I feel ever so much betterme siento muchísimo mejor
much though I like himpor mucho que él me guste
much though he hated the idea, he knew thata pesar de lo que odiaba la idea, sabía que ...
he had reservations about the scheme, much though he valued Alison's opinionstenía sus dudas respecto al plan, a pesar de que valoraba mucho las opiniones de Alison
much to my astonishmentpara gran sorpresa mía
he talks too muchhabla demasiado
very muchmucho
I enjoyed myself very muchme divertí mucho
2. (= by far) → con mucho
much the biggestcon mucho el más grande
I would much rather stayprefiero mucho más quedarme
3. (= more or less) → más o menos, casi
they're much the same sizetienen más o menos el mismo tamaño
they are much of an agetienen casi la misma edad
C. PRONOUNmucho
there isn't much to dono hay mucho que hacer
but much remains to be donepero queda mucho que or por hacer
you've got as much as she hastienes tanto como ella
it didn't cost as much as I had expectedno costó tanto como yo me esperaba
it can cost as much as $2,000puede llegar a costar 2.000 dólares
that's a bit much!¡eso es demasiado!
there isn't much in it (between alternatives) → no hay mucha diferencia, no va mucho de uno a otro
how much is it a kilo?¿cuánto vale el kilo?
how much does it cost?¿cuánto cuesta?
she won but there wasn't much in itganó, pero no por mucho
she's not much to look atfísicamente no vale mucho
to make much of sthdar mucha importancia a algo
much of this is truegran parte de esto es verdad
we don't see much of each otherno nos vemos mucho
we haven't heard much of him latelyúltimamente apenas sabemos nada de él
I'm not much of a musicianmuy poco de música, entiendo poco de música
I'm not much of a cookno cocino muy bien
he's not much of a playercomo jugador no vale mucho
that wasn't much of a dinnereso apenas se podía llamar cena
we spent so muchgastamos tanto
I've got so much to dotengo tantísimo que hacer
that's too mucheso es demasiado
it's not up to muchno vale gran cosa
Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

much

[ˈmʌtʃ]
adjbeaucoup de
I haven't got much money → Je n'ai pas beaucoup d'argent.
I don't want much rice → Je ne veux pas beaucoup de riz.
not very much → pas beaucoup de
I haven't got very much money → Je n'ai pas beaucoup d'argent.
how much (+ noun)combien de
How much time have you got? → Tu as combien de temps?
too much (+ noun)trop de
They give us too much homework → Ils nous donnent trop de devoirs.
so much (+ noun)tant de
I've never seen so much traffic → Je n'ai jamais vu tant de circulation.
There was so much traffic that → Il y avait tant de circulation que ...
advbeaucoup
Do you go out much? → Tu sors beaucoup?
I don't like sport much → Je n'aime pas beaucoup le sport.
I feel much better now → Je me sens beaucoup mieux maintenant.
very much → beaucoup
I enjoyed the film very much → J'ai beaucoup apprécié le film.
Thank you very much → Merci beaucoup.
I like it very much → J'aime beaucoup ça.
I like it so much → j'aime tellement ça
much to my amazement ... → à mon grand étonnement ...
pronbeaucoup
not much (= only a small amount) → pas beaucoup
Have you got a lot of luggage? - No, not much → As-tu beaucoup de bagages? - Non, pas beaucoup. (= nothing of value) → pas grand-chose
What's on TV? - Not much → Qu'est-ce qu'il y a à la télé? - Pas grand-chose.
What did you think of it? - Not much → Qu'est-ce que tu en as pensé? - Pas grand-chose.
it's not much (= not a lot) → ce n'est pas beaucoup
how much? → combien?
How much do you want? → Tu en veux combien?
how much is it? → combien est-ce que ça coûte?
too much → trop
That's too much! → C'est trop
It costs too much → Ça coûte trop cher.
so much → tant
So much has happened → Il s'est passé tant de choses.
not so much → pas autant
I didn't think it would cost so much → Je ne pensais pas que ça coûterait autant.
I thought as much → c'est bien ce que je pensais
Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

much

adj, n
viel inv; how muchwie viel inv; not muchnicht viel; that muchso viel; but that much I do knowaber DAS weiß ich; much of this is trueviel or vieles daran ist wahr; we don’t see much of each otherwir sehen uns nicht oft or nur selten; he’s/it’s not up to much (inf)er/es ist nicht gerade berühmt (inf); I’m not much of a musician/cook/playerich bin nicht sehr musikalisch/keine große Köchin/kein (besonders) guter Spieler; not much of a choicekeine große Auswahl; that wasn’t much of a dinner/partydas Essen/die Party war nicht gerade besonders; I find that a bit (too) much after all I’ve done for himnach allem was ich für ihn getan habe, finde ich das ein ziemlich starkes Stück (inf)
too much (in quantity, money etc, inf: = more than one can take) → zu viel inv; (with emphatic too) → zu viel; (inf) (= marvellous, hilarious)Spitze (sl); (= ridiculous)das Letzte (inf); to be too much for somebody (in quantity) → zu viel für jdn sein; (= too expensive)jdm zu viel or zu teuer sein; that insult was too much for medie Beleidigung ging mir zu weit; the sight of her face was too much for me (inf, = outrageous) → ihr Gesicht war zum Schreien (inf); he’s just too much (inf: = hilarious) → er ist zum Schießen (inf); these children are/this job is too much for meich bin den Kindern/der Arbeit nicht gewachsen; he’d be too much for anybodyer wäre für jeden eine Zumutung; he doesn’t do too mucher tut nicht übermäßig viel; far too much, too much by halfviel zu viel
(just) as muchebenso viel inv, → genauso viel inv; about/not as muchungefähr/nicht so viel; three times as muchdreimal so viel; as much as you want/can etcso viel du willst/kannst etc; as much as possibleso viel wie möglich; he spends as much as he earnser gibt (genau)so viel aus, wie er verdient; they hope to raise as much as £2msie hoffen, nicht weniger als zwei Millionen Pfund aufzubringen; as much againnoch einmal so viel; I feared/thought etc as much(genau) das habe ich befürchtet/mir gedacht etc; it’s as much as I can do to stand upes fällt mir schwer genug aufzustehen; as much as to say …was so viel heißt or bedeutet wie …
so muchso viel inv; (emph so, with following that) → so viel; it’s not so much a problem of modernization as …es ist nicht so sehr ein Problem der Modernisierung, als …; you know so muchdu weißt so viel ? also so
to make much of somebody/somethingviel Wind um jdn/etw machen; Glasgow makes much of its large number of parksGlasgow rühmt sich seiner vielen Parks; I couldn’t make much of that chaptermit dem Kapitel konnte ich nicht viel anfangen (inf)
adv
(with adj, adv) → viel; (with vb) → sehr; (with vb of physical action) drive, sleep, think, talk, laugh etcviel; come, visit, go out etcoft, viel (inf); a much-admired/-married womaneine viel bewunderte/oft verheiratete Frau; he was much dismayed/embarrassed etcer war sehr bestürzt/verlegen etc; so muchso viel; → so sehr; too muchzu viel, zu sehr; I like it very/so muches gefällt mir sehr gut/so gut or so sehr; I don’t like him/it too muchich kann ihn/es nicht besonders leiden; thank you very muchvielen Dank; thank you (ever) so muchvielen herzlichen Dank; I don’t much care or care muches ist mir ziemlich egal; however much he triessosehr or wie sehr er sich auch bemüht; much to my astonishmentsehr zu meinem Erstaunen; much as I should like toso gern ich möchte; much as I like himsosehr ich ihn mag; there wasn’t enough water to drink, much less wash ines gab nicht genug Wasser zu trinken, ganz zu schweigen, um sich damit zu waschen ? also so
(= by far)weitaus, bei Weitem; much the biggestweitaus or bei Weitem der/die/das größte; I would much prefer to or much rather stayich würde viel lieber bleiben
(= almost)beinahe; they are much of an age or much the same agesie sind fast or beinahe gleichaltrig; they’re (fairly) much the same sizesie sind beinahe or so ziemlich gleich groß; they are produced in much the same waysie werden auf sehr ähnliche Art hergestellt
Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

much

(matʃ) comparative more (moː) : superlative most (moust) adjective
a (great) amount or quantity of. This job won't take much effort; I found it without much difficulty; How much sugar is there left?; There's far too much salt in my soup; He ate so much ice-cream that he was sick; Take as much money as you need; After much discussion they decided to go.
pronoun
a large amount; a great deal. He didn't say much about it; Much of this trouble could have been prevented; Did you eat much?; not much; too much; as much as I wanted; How much did you eat?; Only this/that / so much; How much is (= What is the price of) that fish?; Please tidy your room – it isn't much to ask.
adverb
1. (by) a great deal; (by) far. She's much prettier than I am; He isn't much older than you; How much further must we walk?; much more easily; He's much the best person to ask.
2. to a great extent or degree. He will be much missed; We don't see her much; I thanked her very much; much too late; I've much too much to do; The accident was as much my fault as his. Much to my dismay, she began to cry.
be not much of a
to be not a very good thing of a particular kind. I'm not much of a photographer; That wasn't much of a lecture.
be not up to much
to be not very good. The dinner wasn't up to much.
be too much for
to overwhelm; to be too difficult etc for. Is the job too much for you?
make much of
1. to make a fuss of (a person) or about (a thing).
2. to make sense of; to understand. I couldn't make much of the film.
much as
although. Much as I should like to come, I can't.
much the same
not very different. The patient's condition is still much the same.
nothing much
nothing important, impressive etc. `What are you doing?' `Nothing much.'
not much
nothing important, impressive etc. My car isn't much to look at but it's fast.
so much for
that's all that can be said about. So much for that – let's talk about something else; He arrived half an hour late – so much for his punctuality!
think too much of
to have too high an opinion of. He thinks too much of himself.
without so much as
without even. He took my umbrella without so much as asking.

see also many.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

much

كَثِيرٌ, كَثِيرَاً mnoho meget viel πολύ, πολύς mucho paljon beaucoup, une bonne partie mnogo, previše molto, troppo たくさん, 多くの, 大いに 대량, 많은, 매우 veel mye, svært dużo, ile, znaczny muito весьма, много mycket จำนวนมาก, มาก çokça, fazla lắm, nhiều, nhiều lắm 许多, 许多的, 非常
Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009

much

a. mucho-a; abundante;
adv. excesivamente, demasiado, en gran cantidad;
as ___ astanto como;
How ___ ?¿Cuánto?;
not as ___ as beforeno tanto como antes;
How ___ does it hurt?¿Cuánto le duele?;
too ___en exceso, demasiado.
English-Spanish Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012
Collins Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009

much

adj & adv mucho
English-Spanish/Spanish-English Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2006 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved.