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.
See full dictionary entry for much
much less in British English
or still less
used to reinforce a negative
we don't like it, still less enjoy it
See full dictionary entry for less
much less in American English
or still less
to an even smaller degree or extent
she won't even talk to him, much less work with him
See full dictionary entry for less
Examples of 'much less' in a sentence
much less
People that are much less well documented are going through.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
She is deemed to be much less close to her father than the other siblings are.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Just upgrade the existing tracks at much less cost.
The Sun (2016)
We contend that it will do so at a much lower environmental and financial cost and with much less risk.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Hair contains at most a few parts per million of strontium, often much less.
Smithsonian Mag (2017)
Just half a second slower - but for much less than half the price.
The Sun (2016)
It's harder and much less glamorous to expose their claims as lies.
Times, Sunday Times (2017)
Economic activity was much less impaired than in the 1930s.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Inevitably, parental trust and belief in the value of formal education is much less than one might wish for.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
This test is failed much less often than human nature would lead one to expect.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
We have also become much less active.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Other pubs may be performing much less well.
The Sun (2008)
This is much less common than one might think.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The whole is still much less than these parts.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
It seems like a much less cynical time to have lived in!
The Sun (2008)
This is much less often performed today than in the past.
Westcott, Patsy Alternative Health Care for Women (1991)
The whole idea of a library is much less precise than might appear at first.
The Times Literary Supplement (2013)
Other colourful characters are much less well served.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
His book is accordingly much less boring than one might expect of a style manual.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
The chicken began to look much more like a bird and much less like a piece of meat.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Therefore, his personal fortune was always much less than it could have been.
Christianity Today (2000)
As a nation, we need to drink much less.
The Sun (2016)
He had no idea who the patron was, much less where the person had sat.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
And in America they drink so much less.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
It is thought to be worth much less now after a 45 per cent decline in commercial property values.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
That's still much less than an active fund, which could charge two or three times as much.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
It is possible to get a good safari for much less, but there's a limit to how low you should go.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Though in passing I may say that the position you would have to give would be very much less considerable after such a marriage than before it.