Below vs Less - What's the difference?
below | less |
Lower in spatial position than.
*
, title=(The Celebrity), chapter=4
, passage=One morning I had been driven to the precarious refuge afforded by the steps of the inn, after rejecting offers from the Celebrity to join him in a variety of amusements. But even here I was not free from interruption, for he was seated on a horse-block below me, playing with a fox terrier.}}
Lower in value, price, rank or concentration than.
* Addison
* {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=July-August, author=
, title= Downstream of.
South of.
Unsuitable to the rank or dignity of; beneath.
* (John Milton)
* Hallam
(stage directions) Downstage of.
* 1952 , (Frederick Knott), , 1954 (Dramatists Play Service) acting edition, act 1, scene 1:
In a lower place.
*
*:But then I had the [massive] flintlock by me for protection. ¶.
On a lower storey.
Further down.
(lb) On a lower deck.
:
(lb) Below zero.
To smaller extent.
* {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=May-June, author=
, title= In lower degree.
*
, title=(The Celebrity), chapter=8
, passage=I corralled the judge, and we started off across the fields, in no very mild state of fear of that gentleman's wife, whose vigilance was seldom relaxed. And thus we came by a circuitous route to Mohair, the judge occupied by his own guilty thoughts, and I by others not less disturbing.}}
* {{quote-news, year=2012, date=November 7, author=Matt Bai, title=Winning a Second Term, Obama Will Confront Familiar Headwinds, work=New York Times
, passage=That brief moment after the election four years ago, when many Americans thought Mr. Obama’s election would presage a new, less fractious political era, now seems very much a thing of the past. }}
* 1624 , John Smith, Generall Historie , in Kupperman 1988, p. 141:
A smaller amount (of); not as much.
* {{quote-magazine, year=2013, month=May-June, author=
, title= (proscribed) A smaller number of; fewer.
* 1952 , Thomas M Pryor, New York Times , 7 Sep 1952:
* 1999 , (George RR Martin), A Clash of Kings , Bantam 2011, p. 555:
* 2003 , Timandra Harkness, The Guardian , 16 Dec 2003:
Minus; not including
(obsolete) To make less; to lessen.
As prepositions the difference between below and less
is that below is lower in spatial position than while less is minus; not including.As adverbs the difference between below and less
is that below is in a lower place while less is to smaller extent.As an adjective less is
.As a verb less is
(obsolete) to make less; to lessen.As a conjunction less is
(obsolete) unless.below
English
Preposition
(English prepositions)- one degree below kings
Philip J. Bushnell, magazine=(American Scientist)
Solvents, Ethanol, Car Crashes & Tolerance, passage=Surprisingly, this analysis revealed that acute exposure to solvent vapors at concentrations below those associated with long-term effects appears to increase the risk of a fatal automobile accident. Furthermore, this increase in risk is comparable to the risk of death from leukemia after long-term exposure to benzene, another solvent, which has the well-known property of causing this type of cancer.}}
- They beheld, with a just loathing and disdain, how below all history the persons and their actions were.
- who thinks no fact below his regard
- Below the sofa is a low, round coffee table.
Synonyms
* (lower in spatial position than) beneath, under, underneath * (lower in value than) under * (downstream of) downstream * (unsuitable to the rank or dignity of) beneathAntonyms
* (lower in spatial position than) above, over * (lower in value than) over * (downstream of) upstreamDerived terms
* below the beltAdverb
(-)Synonyms
* (in a lower place) beneath, under, underneath * (on a lower storey) downstairs * (farther down) downwardsAntonyms
* (in a lower place) aloft, overhead, up * (on a lower storey) upstairs * (farther down) upwardsDerived terms
(below) * below average * below decks/belowdecks * belowground * below par * below the belt * below the foldReferences
* Andrea Tyler and Vyvyan Evans, "The vertical axis", in The Semantics of English Prepositions: Spatial Scenes, Embodied Meaning and Cognition , Cambridge University Press, 2003, 0-521-81430 8Statistics
*less
English
Adverb
(-)Katrina G. Claw
Rapid Evolution in Eggs and Sperm, volume=101, issue=3, magazine=(American Scientist) , passage=In plants, the ability to recognize self from nonself plays an important role in fertilization, because self-fertilization will result in less diverse offspring than fertilization with pollen from another individual.}}
citation
Antonyms
* moreAdjective
- Those Rattels are somewhat like the chape of a Rapier, but lesse [...].
William E. Conner
An Acoustic Arms Race, volume=101, issue=3, page=206-7, magazine=(American Scientist) , passage=Earless ghost swift moths become “invisible” to echolocating bats by forming mating clusters close (less than half a meter) above vegetation and effectively blending into the clutter of echoes that the bat receives from the leaves and stems around them.}}
- This is not a happy situation as far as the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employes is concerned because it means less jobs for the union's members here at home.
- No less than four standard-bearers went before them, carrying huge crimson banners emblazoned with the golden lion.
- Although my hosts, G S Aviation, can teach you to fly in Wiltshire, an intensive week at their French airfield means less problems with the weather, cheap but good living, and complete removal from any distractions.
Usage notes
Antonyms
* moreSee also
* fewerPreposition
(English prepositions)- It should then tax all of that as personal income, less the proportion of the car's annual mileage demonstrably clocked up on company business.
Antonyms
* plusVerb
- (Gower)