plus

P3L1U1S1
Canada, US, UK/ˈplʌs//ˈplɜs/[ˈplɘ̞s]Australia, New Zealand/ˈplɐs/

preposition

And; sum of the previous one and the following one.

“The figures show a plus.”

Similar
andassetplus signadvantageousgoodpositivebeing positive rather than negativezero
Very commonScrabble 6

Meanings

plus1

preposition
  1. And; sum of the previous one and the following one.

    Two plus two equals four.

    1 more example

    A water molecule is made up of two hydrogen atoms plus one of oxygen.

  2. colloquialWith; having in addition.

    I've won a holiday to France plus five hundred euros in spending money!

conjunction
  1. And also; in addition; besides (which).

    Let's go home now. It's late, plus I'm not feeling too well.

nounplus (plural pluses or plusses)

plural pluses · plural plusses

  1. A positive quantity.

    The figures show a plus.

    1 more example

    But the pluses far outweigh the criticisms.

    2023 April 19, Pip Dunn, “Jack of all trades... and master of most”, in RAIL, number 981, page 57
  2. An asset or useful addition.

    He is a real plus to the team.

    2 more examples

    Look at Trife. He's got two felonies. That means he's finished in society. But he can rap. His two felonies, in rap, man, that's a plus.

    2000 July 6, N. R. Kleinfield, quoting Dog, “Guarding the Borders Of the Hip-Hop Nation”, in The New York Times, →ISSN, archived from the original on 20 Apr 2023

    When Morrison mulls the pluses and minuses associated with rebuking Kelly for undermining the government’s public health messaging, the prime minister faces a genuine substantive dilemma, and that goes to the risks of amplification.

    2021 February 2, Katharine Murphy, “Scott Morrison must heed the lesson of Donald Trump and slap down Craig Kelly”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 27 Apr 2021

    Synonyms: asset

  3. arithmeticA plus sign: +.

    Synonyms: plus sign

  4. abbreviationAbbreviation of LGBT+
adjectiveplus (not comparable)
  1. not comparableBeing positive rather than negative or zero.

    −2 * −2 = +4 ("minus 2 times minus 2 equals plus four")

  2. not comparablePositive, or involving advantage.

    He is a plus factor.

    Synonyms: advantageous, good, positive

  3. not comparablenatural sciencesElectrically positive.

    A battery has both a plus pole and a minus pole.

  4. informalnot comparablepostpositional(Of a quantity) Equal to or greater than; or more; upwards.

    The bus can fit 60 plus kids, but we only get 48.

  5. informalnot comparablepostpositionalAnd more.

    Have you been to Brazil, Bhutan, or Botswana? Well, I haven't and I'm reday ^([sic]) to go ― almost anywhere interesting actually. Warm, wise world traveler seeks equally exciting, self-sufficient soul for adventures plus.

    1985 August 10, “Personal advertisement”, in Gay Community News, volume 13, number 5, page 13
verbplus (third-person singular simple present pluss or plusses, present participle plusing or plussing, simple past and past participle plused or plussed)

present singular third person pluss · present singular third person plusses · participle present plusing · participle present plussing · participle past plused · past plused · participle past plussed · past plussed

  1. informalTo add; to subject to addition.

    The teacher observing the behavior of a child who is plussing or not-plussing is observing instances or not-instances of the concept of plussing.

    1974, Control of Human Behavior: Behavior modification in education
    1 more example

    For him y is a unique number, like 7, but for the time being unknown — if one does the operation of 'plussing 4' one still has, as a result, a unique number even though one does not yet know what it is.

    1973, Australian Council for Educational Research, ACER research series - Issues 93-95, page 39
  2. oftenTo increase in magnitude.

    I am doing a lot of writing here, plussing the script, adding sequences.

    2006, Danny Fingeroth, Mike Manley, How to Create Comics: From Script to Print, →ISBN, page 48
    2 more examples

    We are losing at the street level a number of officers, but we are plussing up deputy positions.

    2009, United States Congress House Committee on Homeland Security, The Direction and Viability of the Federal Protective Service

    And I believe that, if we can't recognize that in retirement, we ought to recognize it in plussing up hazardous duty pay, plussing up sea duty pay and all those other things that recognize people that don't punch out on Saturday, on Friday afternoon and go home, and just, you know, go day after day after day.

    2012, United States Congress House Committee on Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel, Military Retirement Reform, page 24
  3. To improve.

    Coach Wooden didn't have to depend upon having the most talented players on his team because he could depend upon plussing to constantly make everyone better.

    1998, Nate Booth, Strategies for Fast-Changing Times, →ISBN, page 91
    2 more examples

    Keep fooling around with it, improving it, and making it better. You know you have a unique factor when someone steals it. So keep the unique factor unique by constantly plussing it.

    2007, Howard Hendricks, Color Outside the Lines, →ISBN, page 123

    He was a pioneer in plussing the artform of animated cartoons. He began by plussing Micky Mouse with sound, the plussing the Silly Symphonies with color. Walt plussed the skills of his artists by sending them to art school at his own expense.

    2004, Pat Williams, Jim Denney, How to Be Like Walt: Capturing the Disney Magic Every Day of Your Life, →ISBN, page 154
  4. To provide critical feedback by giving suggestions for improvement rather than criticisms.

    Strategic leaders can adapt the US Army's after-action review and Pixar's plussing technique (where you build on ideas rather than critique and subtract) to show their teams how to learn from mistakes.

    2014, Steven Krupp, Paul J.H. Schoemaker, Winning the Long Game: How Strategic Leaders Shape the Future, →ISBN
    2 more examples

    The animators and directors on the receiving end of the plussing don't necessarily have to accept and incorporate the feedback, but plussing provides a method to share criticisms in a way that makes it more likely that they will.

    2013, David Burkus, The Myths of Creativity, →ISBN

    When people view the early drafts of ideas for their movies under development, they always use plussing to try and come up with suggestions for enhancements. Feedback is always given in an upbeat rather than a derogatory manner.

    2014, BusinessNews Publishing, Summary : Little Bets - Peter Sims, →ISBN
  5. salesTo sell additional related items with an original purchase.

    Good will is also secured by plussing the original purchase with another article that goes appropriately with it.

    1920, The Current Business Cyclopedia: Business Digest
    1 more example

    Plussing the original sale creates a win-win situation. The customer benefits because it often saves him the time necessary to run back to the store for overlooked items.

    1986, Max Fallek, How to Set Up and Operate Your Own Law Practice
  6. human sciencesTo frame in a positive light; to provide a sympathetic interpretation.

    When plussing, the intervenor introduces novel viewpoints that can increase the self-esteem of both the attacker and the target.

    2015, Kenneth France, Crisis Intervention, →ISBN, page 177
    2 more examples

    Plussing is a technique for enhancing a positive atmosphere in the session, for diminishing hostility, and for raising self-esteem.

    1979, Douglas A. Puryear, Helping People in Crisis, page 87

    In addition to active listening as a general therapeutic strategy, Puryear identifies two specific techniques, plussing and paradox, that are used throughout the crisis intervention.

    1997, Bernard L. Bloom, Planned short-term psychotherapy: a clinical handbook, page 187
  7. datedsocial mediaTo give a mark of approval on Google+.

    Everyone was plussing them or liking them or pinning them. The videos went viral.

    2014, Ed Catmull, Creativity, Inc., →ISBN, page 279
    1 more example

    How do you get others to add you or your brand to their circles? By creating and sharing useful content, commenting, plussing others' content and comments, and engaging with others on Google+.

    2012, Lee Odden, Optimize, →ISBN, page 111
  8. homeopathyTo increase the potency of a remedy by diluting it in water and stirring.

    From the remaining water a second dilution can be prepared plussing it to the next slightly higher potency.

    2007, Kate Birch, Vaccine Free Prevention and Treatment of Infectious Contagious Disease with Homeopathy, →ISBN
    2 more examples

    On hearing this, plussing was done (all medicated water of the phial was thrown away and fresh distilled was added and 10 strokes were given) on the 13th February 1974.

    2005, B. Sahni, Transmission of Homoeo Drug Energy from Distance, →ISBN, page 188

    Plussing is used quite frequently in a patient who's quite sensitive or has an acute problem happening or needs to change his dose or need to take it over several days.

    2011, Kim Lane, Homeopathy for Home: Acute Illness & Injury Care, →ISBN, page 29
  9. To increase a correction.
    1 more example

    No aspheric cataract spectacle lens designer has ever given the slightest thought to this 4 to 6 diopters of over-plussing for peripheral vision which is responsible for tremendous peripheral distortion, worse peripheral swim, worse false orientation, worse magnification, severe concave curvature of field ("The floor comes up at you"), increased ring scotoma size and increase jack-in-the-box phenomenon (the "horse-blinder effect") with unsafe walking and driving.

    1976, David M. Worthen, Perry S. Binder, The intraocular lens in perspective, →ISBN, page 2

PLUS2

proper noun
  1. MalaysiaabbreviationellipsisEllipsis of PLUS Expressways (North-South Highway Project Company), a Malaysian business that operates tolls in several expressways along the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia
  2. MalaysiacolloquialSynonym of North-South Expressway, a network of tolled highways controlled by PLUS Expressways

    Synonyms: North-South Expressway, PLUS Highway, PLUS Expressway, North-South Expressway

Synonyms & antonyms

nounAn asset or useful addition.

Similar

nounA plus sign: +.

Similar

adjectivePositive, or involving advantage.

proper nounSynonym of North-South Expressway, a network of tolled highways controlled by PLUS Expressways

Similar
North-South ExpresswayPLUS HighwayPLUS ExpresswayNorth-South Expressway
Similar
Opposite

antonym(s) of “useful addition”

Opposite
Similar
being positive rather than negativezero

antonym(s) of “being positive rather than negative or zero”

antonym(s) of “positive, involving advantage”

More synonyms by meaning

adjectiveon the positive side or higher end of a scale

Opposite

adjectiveinvolving advantage or good

nouna useful or valuable quality

Similar
Broader

nouna sign indicating the operation of addition

Similar
Broader

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

plus · preposition, conjunction, noun, adjective, verb

  1. Proto-Indo-European*pleh₁-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*pléh₁yōs
  3. Proto-Italic*plēōs
  4. Old Latinplous
  5. Latinplus
  6. Latinplūs
  7. Englishplus

Borrowed from Latin plūs (“more”).

Full word history & related roots →

PLUS · proper noun

  1. MalayProjek Lebuhraya Utara Selatan Berhad“North-South Highway Project Company”
  2. EnglishPLUS

Borrowed from Malay Projek Lebuhraya Utara Selatan Berhad (“North-South Highway Project Company”), PLUS Expressway's original name in Malay.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic زَائِد, بِالْإِضَافَة إِلَى
  • زَائِد (zāʔid)arithmetic: sum
  • بِالْإِضَافَة إِلَى (bi-l-ʔiḍāfa ʔilā)in addition to
Basque gehi
  • gehiarithmetic: sum
Bulgarian плюс, плюс
  • плюс (pljus)arithmetic: sum
  • плюс (pljus)in addition to
  • плюс (pljus)positive quantity
  • допълнение (dopălnenie)useful addition
  • положителен (položitelen)being positive rather than negative or zero
  • плюс (pljus)being positive rather than negative or zero
  • допълнителен (dopălnitelen)positive, involving advantage
  • положителен (položitelen)physics: electrically positive
  • плюс (pljus)or more; upwards
Catalan més, més
  • mésarithmetic: sum
  • mésbeing positive rather than negative or zero
  • positiubeing positive rather than negative or zero
  • positiupositive, involving advantage
  • positiuphysics: electrically positive
Chinese Cantonese 加, 此外
  • 加 (gaa¹)arithmetic: sum
  • 此外 (ci² ngoi⁶)in addition to
Chinese Mandarin 加
  • 加 (jiā)arithmetic: sum
Czech plus
  • plusarithmetic: sum
Danish og, plus
  • ogarithmetic: sum
  • plusarithmetic: sum
  • ogin addition to
  • plusin addition to
Dutch plus, en
  • plusarithmetic: sum
  • enarithmetic: sum
  • plusin addition to
  • pluspositive quantity
  • meerwaardeuseful addition
  • positiefbeing positive rather than negative or zero
  • positiefpositive, involving advantage
  • positiefphysics: electrically positive
  • plusphysics: electrically positive
Esperanto plus
  • plusarithmetic: sum
Finnish plus, ynnä
  • plusarithmetic: sum
  • ynnäarithmetic: sum
  • jain addition to
  • ja lisäksiin addition to
  • sekäin addition to
  • etuuseful addition
  • plussauseful addition
  • plusbeing positive rather than negative or zero
  • positiivinenbeing positive rather than negative or zero
  • positiivinenpositive, involving advantage
  • hyväpositive, involving advantage
  • myönteinenpositive, involving advantage
French plus, plus
  • plusarithmetic: sum
  • plusin addition to
  • pluspositive quantity
  • plususeful addition
  • plusbeing positive rather than negative or zero
  • positifpositive, involving advantage
  • positivepositive, involving advantage
  • positifphysics: electrically positive
German plus, positiv
  • plusarithmetic: sum
  • positivbeing positive rather than negative or zero
Greek συν
  • συν (syn)arithmetic: sum
Hebrew פלוס, ועוד
  • פלוס (plus)arithmetic: sum
  • ועוד (ve'od)arithmetic: sum
  • פלוס (plus)positive quantity
Hungarian meg, plusz
  • megarithmetic: sum
  • pluszarithmetic: sum
  • pluszin addition to
  • pluszpositive quantity
  • pozitívpositive quantity
  • előnyuseful addition
  • többletuseful addition
  • nyereséguseful addition
  • pluszbeing positive rather than negative or zero
  • pozitívpositive, involving advantage
  • előnyöspositive, involving advantage
  • kedvezőpositive, involving advantage
  • pozitívphysics: electrically positive
  • több mint…or more; upwards
  • -egynéhányor more; upwards
  • -valamennyior more; upwards
Icelandic auk, og
  • aukin addition to
  • ogin addition to
  • plúspositive quantity
  • viðbótuseful addition
  • viðaukiuseful addition
  • kosturuseful addition
  • jákvæðurbeing positive rather than negative or zero
  • pósitífurbeing positive rather than negative or zero
  • stærri en núllbeing positive rather than negative or zero
  • stærra en núllbeing positive rather than negative or zero
  • jákvæðurphysics: electrically positive
  • pósitífurphysics: electrically positive
  • með jákvæða hleðsluphysics: electrically positive
Irish móide
  • móidearithmetic: sum
Italian più, aggiunta utile
  • piùarithmetic: sum
  • aggiunta utileuseful addition
  • positivobeing positive rather than negative or zero
  • positivabeing positive rather than negative or zero
Japanese 足す, プラス
  • 足す (tasu)arithmetic: sum
  • プラス (purasu)arithmetic: sum
  • 以上 (ijō)or more; upwards
Korean 더하기
  • 더하기 (deohagi)arithmetic: sum
Latvian plus
  • plusarithmetic: sum
Māori ngahoro
  • ngahoroor more; upwards
Norwegian og, pluss
  • ogarithmetic: sum
  • plussarithmetic: sum
Persian به علاوه
  • به علاوه (be 'alâve-ye)arithmetic: sum
Polish plus, dodać
  • plusarithmetic: sum
  • dodaćarithmetic: sum
  • plususeful addition
Portuguese mais, mais
  • maisarithmetic: sum
  • maisin addition to
  • positivobeing positive rather than negative or zero
  • positivopositive, involving advantage
  • positivophysics: electrically positive
  • positivaphysics: electrically positive
Romanian plus, pozitiv
  • plusarithmetic: sum
  • pozitivphysics: electrically positive
Russian плюс, плюс
  • плюс (pljus)arithmetic: sum
  • плюс (pljus)in addition to
  • плюс (pljus)useful addition
  • плюс (pljus)being positive rather than negative or zero
  • положи́тельный (položítelʹnyj)positive, involving advantage
  • положи́тельный (položítelʹnyj)physics: electrically positive
Spanish más, más
  • másarithmetic: sum
  • másin addition to
  • y de plusAnd also; in addition; besides (which).
  • y ademásAnd also; in addition; besides (which).
  • y encimaAnd also; in addition; besides (which).
  • y a másAnd also; in addition; besides (which).
  • y de más a másAnd also; in addition; besides (which).
  • y como plusAnd also; in addition; besides (which).
  • plususeful addition
  • punto a favoruseful addition
  • positivobeing positive rather than negative or zero
  • positivopositive, involving advantage
  • positivophysics: electrically positive
Swedish och, plus
  • ocharithmetic: sum
  • plusarithmetic: sum
  • ochin addition to
  • plusin addition to
  • pluspositive quantity
  • positivt talpositive quantity
  • plususeful addition
  • tillgånguseful addition
  • tillskottuseful addition
  • fördeluseful addition
  • plusbeing positive rather than negative or zero
  • extrapositive, involving advantage
  • pluspositive, involving advantage
  • överskjutandepositive, involving advantage
  • plusphysics: electrically positive
Tagalog dagdag
  • dagdagarithmetic: sum
Thai บวก
  • บวก (bùuak)arithmetic: sum
Turkish artı, artı
  • artıarithmetic: sum
  • artıin addition to
  • ayrıcain addition to
  • artıbeing positive rather than negative or zero
Ukrainian плюс
  • плюс (pljus)arithmetic: sum
Vietnamese cộng
  • cộngarithmetic: sum
Yiddish פּלוס
  • פּלוס (plus)arithmetic: sum

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with plus

All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

plus. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/plus

MLA

“plus.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/plus. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “plus,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/plus.

Source: plus on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.