much

[muhch] /mʌtʃ/
adjective, more, most.
1.
great in quantity, measure, or degree:
too much cake.
noun
2.
a great quantity, measure, or degree:
Much of his research was unreliable.
3.
a great, important, or notable thing or matter:
The house is not much to look at.
adverb, more, most.
4.
to a great extent or degree; greatly; far:
to talk too much; much heavier.
5.
nearly, approximately, or about:
This is much like the others.
Idioms
6.
make much of,
  1. to treat, represent, or consider as of great importance:
    to make much of trivial matters.
  2. to treat with great consideration; show fondness for; flatter.
7.
much as,
  1. almost the same as:
    We need exercise, much as we need nourishment.
  2. however much:
    Much as she wanted to stay at the party, she had to leave.
8.
not so much, Informal. not (def 3).
Origin
1150-1200; Middle English muche, moche, apocopated variant of muchel, mochel, Old English mycel; replacing Middle English miche(l), Old English micel great, much (cf. mickle), cognate with Old Norse mikill, Gothic mikils, Greek mégal-, suppletive stem of mégas great
Can be confused
much, very (see usage note at very)
Examples from the web for much
  • It would be great if all interested in getting into tortoises or any living creature really would put this much thought into it.
  • The bureaucrats are the fulcrum so the guys with the leverage can lift great weight without too much effort.
  • Jellyfish have long been dismissed as so much mindless protoplasm with a mouth.
  • Yes, it's much better to take steps to keep students who are not interested in college enrolled.
  • As stores close, the industry loses much more than a retail outlet.
  • Learn more about how much freshwater there is, and where it's found.
  • The equator radiates much more heat because it has a higher temperature.
  • We learned that they're not eating much meat in the wild.
  • It doesn't take much to turn a head of romaine or a prepacked bag of greens into a gourmet first course.
  • First and foremost, running the football is a much smoother, more elegant experience.
British Dictionary definitions for much

much

/mʌtʃ/
determiner
1.
  1. (usually used with a negative) a great quantity or degree of: there isn't much honey left
  2. (as pronoun): much has been learned from this
2.
(informal) a bit much, rather excessive
3.
as much, exactly that: I suspected as much when I heard
4.
make much of, See make of (sense 4)
5.
not much of, not to any appreciable degree or extent: he's not much of an actor really
6.
(informal) not up to much, of a low standard: this beer is not up to much
7.
(used with a negative) think much of, to have a high opinion of: I don't think much of his behaviour
adverb
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
adjective
12.
(predicative; usually used with a negative) impressive or important: this car isn't much
See also more, most
Word Origin
Old English mycel; related to Old English micel great, Old Saxon mikil, Gothic mikils; compare also Latin magnus, Greek megas
Word Origin and History for much
adj.

c.1200, worn down by loss of unaccented last syllable from Middle English muchel "large, much," from Old English micel "great in amount or extent," from Proto-Germanic *mekilaz, from PIE *meg- "great" (see mickle). As a noun and an adverb, from c.1200. For vowel evolution, see bury.

Idioms and Phrases with much

much

also see: