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.
2. adverb [ADVERB after verb]
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?
3. adverb [ADVtoo]
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.
[emphasis]
The skin is much too delicate.
You'd be so much happier if you could see yourself the way I see you.
He had written to The Times and then, much more unacceptably, allowed himself tobe interviewed on television.
4. adverb [ADVlike n, ADVERB noun]
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.
5. determiner
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.
His job was to assess how much aid was required.
People are happy because there's not much crime here.
Furniture is so bulky, it takes so much room.
Much is also a pronoun.
...eating too much and drinking too much.
There was so much to talk about.
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.
Her father had been a merchant seaman, absent for much of her childhood.
6. adverb
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.'
7. quantifier
If you do not see much of someone, you do not see them very often.
I don't see much of Tony nowadays.
We won't be seeing much of each other for a while.
8. determiner
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.
I'm always very aware of how much work there is still to be done.
Krock told this story to McCauley and asked him how much truth there was in it.
Much is also an adverb.
She knows how much this upsets me but she persists in doing it.
How much cooler will it get?
Much is also a pronoun.
How much do you earn?
Greg made a vague gesture to indicate how much.
Synonyms: a lot, plenty, a great deal, lots [informal] More Synonyms of much
9. determiner
You use much in the expression as much when you are comparing amounts.
I shall try, with as much patience as is possible, to explain yet again.
Their aim will be to produce as much milk as possible.
With an 18-watt fluorescent bulb you get as much light but use 75% less electricity.
10. phrase
You use much as to introduce a fact which makes something else you have just said or will say rather surprising.
Much as they'd like to go home, they're resigned to staying until the end of theyear.
11.
See as much
12.
See as much as
13.
See much less
14.
See nothing much
15.
See not much of a
16.
See so much for
17.
See so much for
18.
See not so much
19.
See so much as
20.
See so much so
21.
See too much
22.
See very much
23. a bit much
24. not up to much
More Synonyms of much
English Easy Learning GrammarDeterminersDeterminers are words that make the reference of nouns more specific. If I say ‘thiscar’ it is clear that I mean a particular car which is near me. If ... Read more
English Easy Learning GrammarNoun phrases with several determinersMost noun phrases contain only one determiner or none at all, but if there are more,they follow a definite order. Determiners can be divided into four ... Read more
English Easy Learning GrammarQuantifiersQuantifiers are used to indicate the amount or quantity of something referred to bya noun. They are different from numbers because they indicate an approximate ... Read more
much-
(mʌtʃ-)
combining form
Much- combines with past participles to form adjectives which emphasize the intensity of the specified state or action.
[emphasis]
I'm having a much-needed rest.
...a much-improved version of last season's model.
much in British English
(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
3. as much
4. make much of
5. not much of
6. not up to much
7. think much of
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
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
much in American English
(mʌtʃ)
adjectiveWord forms: more or most
1. Obsolete
many in number
2.
great in quantity, amount, degree, etc.
adverbWord forms: more or most
3.
to a great degree or extent
much happier
4.
just about; almost; nearly
much the same as yesterday
5.
at frequent intervals; often
do you dine out much?
noun
6.
a great amount or quantity
much to be done
7.
something great, unusual, or outstanding
not much to look at
Idioms:
a bit much
as much as
make much of
much as
not much of a
Word origin
ME muche < muchel, large, much < OE mycel, large in size or quantity < IE base *meĝ(h)-, large > Gr megas, L magnus
More idioms containing
much
not much cop
much ado about nothing
too much information
Examples of 'much' in a sentence
much
Time and resources spent on social media just got much easier to justify.
Computing (2010)
Much less common is to look at how important a goal was.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Much of the money he earned went to bail out his dad.
The Sun (2016)
You could see how much this meant to us and to the fans.
The Sun (2016)
But this was about something so much less tangible than cash.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
The replay is going to be much better!
The Sun (2017)
Too much needs to happen too quickly.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
It's often a much better option than silk.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Many firms offer add-on deals and bundles making it much cheaper to use the internet abroad.
The Sun (2016)
We often ask how much is enough?
The Sun (2012)
We need to wake up to just how much we consume.
The Sun (2016)
The risk of leukaemia is much less.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
The unbearable weight of expectation and the sheer guilt of costing so much money.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
That does not say much for the rest of them.
The Sun (2016)
We need something much more like a command structure than a committee.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Today they will find out it goes much further.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
The focus comes much closer to home.
Christianity Today (2000)
So much has happened in ten years.
The Sun (2013)
Use as much point end as you wish.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
You go through so much and end up very close.
The Sun (2016)
Other sources cautioned that it could take much longer to hammer out a deal.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
This much is also told in the previous accounts.
The Times Literary Supplement (2014)
Was it getting too much for her already?
Paige, Frances The Glasgow Girls (1994)
There won't be much love going on.
The Sun (2015)
My mum says there is 'too much information' in them.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Architects aren't abandoning the panorama altogether, but they are realising that you can have too much of a good thing.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Quotations
much of a muchnessJohn Vanburgh & Colley CibberThe Provok'd Husband
In other languages
much
British English: much /mʌtʃ/ DETERMINER
You use much to talk about a large amount of something.
We don't have much food.
American English: much
Arabic: كَثِيرٌ
Brazilian Portuguese: muito
Chinese: 许多的
Croatian: mnogo
Czech: mnoho
Danish: meget
Dutch: veel
European Spanish: mucho
Finnish: paljon
French: beaucoup
German: viel
Greek: πολύς
Italian: molto
Japanese: 多くの
Korean: 많은
Norwegian: svært
Polish: znaczny
European Portuguese: muito
Romanian: mult
Russian: много
Latin American Spanish: mucho
Swedish: mycket
Thai: มาก
Turkish: fazla
Ukrainian: багато
Vietnamese: nhiều
British English: much /mʌtʃ/ ADVERB
You use much with `so', `too', and `very' to mean a very large amount of something.
She shouts too much.
American English: much
Arabic: كَثِيرَاً
Brazilian Portuguese: muito
Chinese: 非常
Croatian: previše
Czech: mnoho
Danish: meget
Dutch: veel
European Spanish: mucho
Finnish: paljon
French: beaucoup
German: viel
Greek: πολύ
Italian: troppo
Japanese: 大いに
Korean: 매우
Norwegian: mye
Polish: dużo
European Portuguese: muito
Romanian: mult
Russian: весьма
Latin American Spanish: mucho
Swedish: mycket
Thai: มาก
Turkish: çokça
Ukrainian: багато
Vietnamese: lắm
British English: much /mʌtʃ/ PRONOUN
You use much to mean a large amount of something.
I didn't think much about it then.
American English: much
Arabic: كَثِيرٌ
Brazilian Portuguese: muito
Chinese: 许多
Croatian: mnogo
Czech: mnoho
Danish: meget
Dutch: veel
European Spanish: mucho
Finnish: NO TRANSLATION
French: une bonne partie
German: viel
Greek: πολύς
Italian: molto
Japanese: たくさん
Korean: 대량
Norwegian: mye
Polish: ile
European Portuguese: muito
Romanian: mult
Russian: много
Latin American Spanish: mucho
Swedish: mycket
Thai: จำนวนมาก
Turkish: fazla
Ukrainian: багато
Vietnamese: nhiều lắm
Chinese translation of 'much'
much
(mʌtʃ)
adj
大量的 (dàliàng de)
we haven't got much time/money我们(們)没(沒)有多少时(時)间(間)/钱(錢) (wǒmen méiyǒu duōshao shíjiān/qián)
pron
大量 (dàliàng)
there isn't much left剩下的不多了 (shèngxià de bù duō le)
he doesn't do much at the weekends周(週)末他不做太多事 (zhōumò tā bù zuò tài duō shì)
much of the time/his life大多数(數)时(時)间(間)/他人生的大部分 (dàduōshù shíjiān/tā rénshēng de dàbùfen)
adv
(= a great deal) 许(許)多 (xǔduō)
he hasn't changed much他没(沒)变(變)很多 (tā méi biàn hěn duō)
"did you like her?" — "not much""你喜欢(歡)她吗(嗎)？" "不太喜欢(歡)" ("nǐ xǐhuan tā ma?" "bù tài xǐhuan")
much as I like him ... 尽(儘)管我喜欢(歡)他，但是 ... (jǐnguǎn wǒ xǐhuan tā, dànshì ... )
however much you may try to forget ... 无(無)论(論)你怎么(麼)竭力想忘掉都 ... (wúlùn nǐ zěnme jiélì xiǎng wàngdiào dōu ... )
(= far) ... 得多 ( ... de duō)
I'm much better now我感觉(覺)好多了 (wǒ gǎnjué hǎo duō le)
it's much the biggest publishing company in Europe它是欧(歐)洲最大的出版公司 (tā shì Ōuzhōu zuì dà de chūbǎn gōngsī)
those trousers are much too big for you那些裤(褲)子对(對)你而言实(實)在太肥了 (nàxiē kùzi duì nǐ ér yán shízài tài féi le)
(= often) 经(經)常 (jīngcháng)
do you go out much?你经(經)常出去吗(嗎)？ (nī jīngcháng chūqù ma?)
(= almost) 几(幾)乎 (jīhū)
the two books are much the same这(這)两(兩)本书(書)几(幾)乎是一样(樣)的 (zhè liǎng běn shū jīhū shì yīyàng de)
"how are you feeling?" — "much the same""你感觉(覺)怎么(麼)样(樣)？" "几(幾)乎没(沒)变(變)" ("nǐ gǎnjué zěnme yàng? " "jīhū méi biàn")