Phrase guide

less is more

proverb · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /lɛs ɪz ˈmɔː/
  • General-American: /lɛs ɪz ˈmɔɹ/

1

proverb

Meaning 1

That which is of smaller quantity could be of higher quality.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Qualifier: paradox

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

proverb

Meaning 2

That which is less complicated is often better understood and more appreciated than what is more complicated; brevity in communication is more effective than verbosity.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

18 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Chinese Mandarin: 少即是多 (shǎojíshìduō) — less is more
  • Chinese Mandarin: 物以稀为贵 (wùyǐxīwéiguì) — less is more
  • Czech: méně je více — less is more
  • Dutch: minder is meer — less is more
  • Finnish: vähemmän on enemmän — less is more
  • French: moins, c’est plus — less is more
  • German: weniger ist mehr — less is more
  • Greek: ουκ εν τω πολλώ το ευ (ouk en to polló to ef) — less is more
  • Ancient Greek: οὐκ ἐν τῷ πολλῷ τὸ εὖ (ouk en tōî pollōî tò eû) — less is more
  • Hungarian: a kevesebb több — less is more
  • Hungarian: a kevesebb néha több — less is more
  • Korean: 적은 것이 더 많다 (jeogeun geosi deo manta) — less is more
  • Persian: هرچه کمتربهتر — less is more
  • Polish: mniej znaczy więcej — less is more
  • Portuguese: menos é mais — less is more
  • Russian: лу́чше ме́ньше, да лу́чше (lúčše ménʹše, da lúčše) — less is more
  • Spanish: menos es más — less is more
  • Swedish: less is more — less is more