Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition

Much

Much

(mŭch)
,
Adj.
[
Com
par.
& sup
erl.
wanting, but supplied by
More
(mōr)
, and
Most
(mōst)
, from another root.]
[OE.
moche
,
muche
,
miche
, prob. the same as
mochel
,
muchel
,
michel
,
mikel
, fr. AS.
micel
,
mycel
; cf. Gr.
μέγας
, fem.
μεγάλη
, great, and Icel.
mjök
, adv., much. √103. See
Mickle
.]
1.
Great in quantity; long in duration;
as,
much
rain has fallen;
much
time.
Thou shalt carry
much
seed out into the field, and shalt gather but little in.
Deut. xxviii. 38.
2.
Many in number.
[Archaic]
Edom came out against him with
much
people.
Num. xx. 20.
3.
High in rank or position.
[Obs.]
Chaucer.

Much

,
Noun.
1.
A great quantity; a great deal; also, an indefinite quantity;
as, you have as
much
as I
.
He that gathered
much
had nothing over.
Ex. xvi. 18.
☞ Muchin this sense can be regarded as an adjective qualifying a word unexpressed, and may, therefore, be modified by as, so, too, very.
2.
A thing uncommon, wonderful, or noticeable; something considerable.
And [he] thought not
much
to clothe his enemies.
Milton.
To make much of
,
to treat as something of especial value or worth.

Much

,
adv.
[Cf. Icel.
mjök
. See
Much
,
Adj.
]
To a great degree or extent; greatly; abundantly; far; nearly.
“Much suffering heroes.”
Pope.
Thou art
much
mightier than we.
Gen. xxvi. 16.
Excellent speech becometh not a fool,
much
less do lying lips a prince.
Prov. xvii. 7.
Henceforth I fly not death, nor would prolong
Life
much
.
Milton.
All left the world
much
as they found it.
Sir W. Temple.

Webster 1828 Edition

Much

MUCH

, a.
1.
Great in quantity or amount.
Thou shalt carry much seed into the field, and gather but little in. Deut.28.
Manasseh wrought much wickedness in the sight of the Lord to provoke him to anger. 2 Kings 21.
Return with much riches to your tents. Jost. 22.
2.
Long in duration. How much time is spent in trifling amusements!
3.
Many in number.
Edom came out against him with much people. Num.20.
[This application of much is no longer used.]

MUCH

,
adv.
In a great degree; by far; qualifying adjectives of the comparative degree; as much more, much stronger, much heavier, much more splendid, much higher. So we say, much less, much smaller, much less distinguished, much weaker, much finer.
1.
To a great degree or extent; qualifying verbs and participles.
Jonathan, Saul's son, delighted much in David. 1 Sam.19.
It is a night to be much observed. Ex.12.
The soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way. Num.21.
A much afflicted, much enduring man.
2.
Often or long.
Think much, speak little.
3.
Nearly.
All left the world much as they found it.

MUCH

,
Noun.
A great quantity; a great deal.
He that gathered much had nothing over. Ex.16.
To whom much is given, of him much shall be required. Luke 12.
They have much of the poetry of Maecenas, but little of his liberality.
1.
More than enough; a heavy service or burden.
He thought not much to clothe his enemies.
Who thought it much a man should die of love.
2.
An uncommon thing; something strange.
It was much that one who was so great a lover of peace should be happy in war.
As much, an equal quantity; used as an adjective or noun. Return as much bread as you borrowed. If you borrow money, return as much as you receive. So we say, twice as much, five times as much, that is, twice or five times the quantity.
1.
A certain or suitable quantity.
Then take as much as thy soul desireth. 1 Sam.2.
2.
To an equal degree; adverbially. One man loves power as much as another loves gold.
So much, an equal quantity or a certain quantity, as a noun; to an equal degree, or to a certain degree, as an adverb.
Of sweet cinnamon half so much. Ex.30.
In all Israel, there was none to be so much praised as Absalom. 2 Sam.14.
Too much, an excessive quantity, as a noun; to an excessive degree, as an adverb.
To make much of, to value highly; to prize or to treat with great kindness and attention.
1.
To fondle.
Much at one, nearly of equal value, effect or influence.

Definition 2024

much

much

See also: múch, mùch, and müch

English

Determiner

much ‎(comparative more, superlative most)

  1. (obsolete) Large, great. [12th-16thc.]
    • 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, chapter iiij, in Le Morte Darthur, book XX:
      Thenne launcelot vnbarred the dore / and with his lyfte hand he held it open a lytel / so that but one man myghte come in attones / and soo there came strydyng a good knyghte a moche man and large / and his name was Colgreuaunce / of Gore / and he with a swerd strake at syr launcelot myȝtely and he put asyde the stroke
  2. A large amount of. [from 13thc.]
    • 1816, Jane Austen, Persuasion:
      As it was, he did nothing with much zeal, but sport; and his time was otherwise trifled away, without benefit from books or anything else.
    • 2011, "Wisconsin and wider", The Economist, 24 February:
      Unless matters take a nastier turn, neither side has much incentive to compromise.
  3. (now archaic or nonstandard) A great number of; many (people). [from 13thc.]
    • 1485, Sir Thomas Malory, chapter x, in Le Morte Darthur, book XX:
      ye shall not nede to seke hym soo ferre sayd the Kynge / for as I here saye sir Launcelot will abyde me and yow in the Ioyous gard / and moche peple draweth vnto hym as I here saye
    • 1526, Bible, tr. William Tyndale, Matthew VI:
      When Jesus was come downe from the mountayne, moch people folowed him.
    • 1897, Bram Stoker, Dracula:
      There wasn't much people about that day.
  4. (now Caribbean, African-American) Many ( + plural countable noun). [from 13thc.]
    • 1977, Bob Marley, So Much Things to Say:
      They got so much things to say right now, they got so much things to say.

Usage notes

  • Much is now generally used with uncountable nouns. The equivalent used with countable nouns is many. In positive contexts, much is widely avoided: I have a lot of money instead of I have much money. There are some exceptions to this, however: I have much hope for the future.
  • Unlike many determiners, much is frequently modified by intensifying adverbs, as in “too much”, “very much”, “so much”, “not much”, and so on. (The same is true of many.)

Synonyms

Antonyms

Derived terms

Translations

Adverb

much ‎(comparative more, superlative most)

  1. To a great extent.
    I don't like fish much.‎
    He is much fatter than I remember him.‎
    He left her, much to the satisfaction of her other suitor.‎
    • 1909, Archibald Marshall, The Squire's Daughter, chapterI:
      They stayed together during three dances, went out on to the terrace, explored wherever they were permitted to explore, paid two visits to the buffet, and enjoyed themselves much in the same way as if they had been school-children surreptitiously breaking loose from an assembly of grown-ups.
    • 2011 October 20, Michael da Silva, “Stoke 3-0 Macc Tel-Aviv”, in BBC Sport:
      Tangling with Ziv, Cameron caught him with a flailing elbow, causing the Israeli defender to go down a little easily. However, the referee was in no doubt, much to the displeasure of the home fans.
    • 2013 June 8, “The new masters and commanders”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8839, page 52:
      From the ground, Colombo’s port does not look like much. Those entering it are greeted by wire fences, walls dating back to colonial times and security posts. For mariners leaving the port after lonely nights on the high seas, the delights of the B52 Night Club and Stallion Pub lie a stumble away.
  2. Often; frequently.
    Does he get drunk much?‎

Usage notes

  • As a verb modifier in positive contexts, much must be modified by another adverb: I like fish very much, I like fish so much, etc. but not *I like fish much.
  • As a comparative intensifier, many can be used instead of much if it modifies the comparative form of many, i.e. more with a countable noun: many more people but much more snow.

Synonyms

Antonyms

Translations

Pronoun

much

  1. A large amount or great extent.
    From those to whom much has been given much is expected.

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: see · over · know · #93: much · after · first · down

Anagrams

Chuukese

Verb

much

  1. to end

Polish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /mux/

Noun

much

  1. genitive plural of mucha

Etymology

From Middle English muche ‎(“much, great”), apocopated variant of muchel ‎(“much, great”), from Old English myċel, miċel, micel ‎(“large, great, much”), from Proto-Germanic *mikilaz ‎(“great, many, much”), from Proto-Indo-European *meǵa- ‎(“big, stour, great”), *meǵh₂-. See also mickle, muckle.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /mʌtʃ/
  • Rhymes: -ʌtʃ

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