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Much definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

MUCH, a.
1. Great in quantity or amount.
Thou shalt carry much seed into the field, and gather but little in. Deutoronomy 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. Numbers 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. 2 Samuel 19.
It is a night to be much observed. Exodus 12.
The soul of the people was much discouraged because of the way. Numbers 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, n. A great quantity; a great deal.
He that gathered much had nothing over. Exodus 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. 2 Samuel 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. Exodus 30.
In all Israel, there was none to be so much praised as Absalom. 1 Samuel 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.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: (quantifier used with mass nouns) great in quantity or degree or extent; "not much rain"; "much affection"; "much grain is in storage" [ant: little, slight] n
1: a great amount or extent; "they did much for humanity" adv
1: to a great degree or extent; "she's much better now"
2: very; "he was much annoyed"
3: 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" [syn: a lot, lots, a good deal, a great deal, much, very much]
4: (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" [syn: much, practically]
5: frequently or in great quantities; "I don't drink much"; "I don't travel much" [syn: much, a great deal, often]

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective (more; most) Etymology: Middle English muche large, much, from michel, muchel, from Old English micel, mycel; akin to Old High German mihhil great, large, Latin magnus, Greek megas, Sanskrit mahat Date: 13th century 1. a. great in quantity, amount, extent, or degree <there is much truth in what you say> <taken too much time> b. great in importance or significance <nothing much happened> 2. obsolete many in number 3. more than is expected or acceptable ; more than enough <the large pizza is a bit much for one person> II. adverb (more; most) Date: 13th century 1. a. (1) to a great degree or extent ; considerably <much happier> (2) very <much gratified> b. (1) frequently, often <much away from home> (2) by or for a long time <didn't get to work much before noon> c. by far <was much the brightest student> 2. nearly, approximately <looks much the way his father did> III. noun Date: 13th century 1. a great quantity, amount, extent, or degree <gave away much> 2. something considerable or impressive <was not much to look at>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj., n., & adv. --adj. 1 existing or occurring in a great quantity (much trouble; not much rain; too much noise). 2 (prec. by as, how, that, etc.) with relative rather than distinctive sense (I don't know how much money you want). --n. 1 a great quantity (much of that is true). 2 (prec. by as, how, that, etc.) with relative rather than distinctive sense (we do not need that much). 3 (usu. in neg.) a noteworthy or outstanding example (not much to look at; not much of a party). --adv. 1 a in a great degree (much to my surprise; is much the same). b (qualifying a verb or past participle) greatly (they much regret the mistake; I was much annoyed). Usage: Much implies a strong verbal element in the participle, whereas very implies a strong adjectival element: compare the second example above with I was very annoyed. c qualifying a comparative or superlative adjective (much better; much the most likely). 2 for a large part of one's time (is much away from home). Phrases and idioms: as much the extent or quantity just specified; the idea just mentioned (I thought as much; as much as that?). a bit much colloq. somewhat excessive or immoderate. make much of see MAKE. much as even though (cannot come, much as I would like to). much less see LESS. much obliged see OBLIGE. not much colloq. 1 iron. very much. 2 certainly not. not much in it see IN. too much colloq. an intolerable situation etc. (that really is too much). too much for 1 more than a match for. 2 beyond what is endurable by. Derivatives: muchly adv. joc. Etymology: ME f. muchel MICKLE: for loss of el cf. BAD, WENCH

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Much Much, adv. [Cf. Icel. mj["o]k. See Much, a.] 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's 1913 Dictionary

Much Much, n. 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. Note: 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.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Much Much, a. [Compar. & superl. wanting, but supplied by More, and Most, from another root.] [OE. moche, muche, miche, prob. the same as mochel, muchel, michel, mikel, fr. AS. micel, mycel; cf. Gr. ?, fem. ?, great, and Icel. mj["o]k, adv., much. [root]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.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. 1. 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. ADV: ADV after v 2. 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 ADV: oft with brd-neg, ADV after v 3. 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 ADV: ADV compar, ADV too [emphasis] 4. 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. ADV: ADV as/like cl, ADV like n, ADV n as n, ADV n 5. 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... DET: DET n-uncount, oft with brd-neg • Much is also a pronoun. ...eating too much and drinking too much... There was so much to talk about. ? little PRON • 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... QUANT: QUANT of def-n-uncount/def-sing-n 6. 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.' ADV: ADV as reply 7. If you do not see much of someone, you do not see them very often. I don't see much of Tony nowadays... QUANT: with brd-neg, QUANT of n-proper/pron 8. 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... DET: how DET • Much is also an adverb. She knows how much this upsets me but she persists in doing it... ADV: how ADV, ADV with cl, ADV compar • Much is also a pronoun. How much do you earn?... PRON: how PRON 9. You use much in the expression as much when you are comparing amounts. Their aim will be to produce as much milk as possible... DET: as DET n, usu as DET n as cl/group 10. 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. PHRASE 11. 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. PHRASE: v PHR 12. 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. PHRASE: PHR amount [emphasis] 13. 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... PHRASE: PHR cl/group, PHR before v 14. You say nothing much to refer to something that is not very interesting or important. 'What was stolen?'—'Oh, nothing much.'... PHRASE 15. 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... PHRASE: PHR n 16. 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? PHRASE: PHR n 17. 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. PHRASE: PHR n 18. 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... PHRASE: with brd-neg, PHR group, PHR before v 19. 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... PHRASE: with brd-neg, PHR before v [emphasis] 20. 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. PHRASE: PHR that 21. 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. PHRASE: v-link PHR, oft PHR for n 22. 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... PHRASE: oft PHR n [emphasis] 23. a bit much: see bit not up to much: see up

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. a. Abundant, plenteous, a great deal of, a great quantity or amount of. II. ad. 1. Greatly, to a great degree. 2. Often, long, frequently, earnestly, a great deal. 3. Nearly, almost, about the same. III. n. Great quantity, great deal.

Moby Thesaurus

a deal, a great deal, a lot, abounding, abundance, abundant, abundantly, acres, affluence, affluent, again and again, all-sufficing, ample, ample sufficiency, ampleness, amplitude, aplenty, as all creation, as all get-out, avalanche, bags, barrel, barrels, bay, beaucoup, bonanza, bottomless, bounteous, bountiful, bountifulness, bountiousness, bumper crop, bushel, cater to, cocker, coddle, considerable, considerably, copious, copiousness, cosset, countless, countlessness, diffuse, effuse, eminently, epidemic, ever so, ever so much, exceedingly, exceptionally, excess, exhaustless, extravagance, extravagant, extremely, exuberance, exuberant, fat, fertile, fertility, flood, flow, flush, foison, frequently, full, full measure, fullness, galore, generosity, generous, generousness, great abundance, great deal, great plenty, greatly, gush, heap, highly, hugely, humor, in great measure, in plenty, in quantity, indulge, inexhaustible, landslide, largely, lashings, lavish, lavishness, liberal, liberality, liberalness, load, lot, lots, lump, luxuriance, luxuriant, many, mass, maximal, maximum, mess, mollycoddle, more than enough, mountain, muchly, multiplicity, multitude, multitudinous, myriad, myriads, never so, no end, no end of, not a little, notably, numerous, numerousness, ocean, oceans, oft, oftentimes, ofttimes, opulence, opulency, opulent, outpouring, over and over, overage, overflow, overflowing, oversupply, pack, pamper, peck, pile, plenitude, plenitudinous, plenteous, plenteousness, plentiful, plentifulness, plenty, plethora, power, pretty much, prevailing, prevalence, prevalent, prodigal, prodigality, productive, productiveness, profuse, profuseness, profusion, profusive, quantities, quantity, rampant, repeatedly, replete, repleteness, repletion, rich, rich harvest, rich vein, richness, rife, riot, riotous, riotousness, running over, scads, sea, shower, sight, so, so very much, spate, spoil, stream, substantiality, substantialness, superabundance, superabundant, superfluity, surpassingly, teeming, teemingness, to the skies, tons, very much, volume, wealth, wealthy, well-found, well-furnished, well-nigh, well-provided, well-stocked, wholesale, world, worlds