1 adv 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.
ADV after v
She laughs too much..., Thank you very much..., My hairstyle hasn't changed much since I was five.
2 adv If something does not happen much, it does not happen very often.
oft with brd-neg, ADV after v
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 adv 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.
ADV compar, ADV too (emphasis)
The skin is much too delicate..., You'd be so much happier if you could see yourself the way I see you...
4 adv If one thing is much the same as another thing, it is very similar to it.
ADV as/like cl, ADV like n, ADV n as n, ADV n
The day ended much as it began..., Sheep's milk is produced in much the same way as goat's milk.
5 det You use much to indicate that you are referring to a large amount of a substance or thing.
DET n-uncount, oft with brd-neg
They are grown on the hillsides in full sun, without much water..., The Home Office acknowledges that much crime goes unreported...
Much is also a pronoun., pron (Antonym: little)
...eating too much and drinking too much..., There was so much to talk about.
Much is also a quantifier., quant QUANT of def-n-uncount/def-sing-n
Much of the time we do not notice that we are solving problems..., She does much of her work abroad...
6 adv You use much in expressions such as not much, not very much, and too much when replying to questions about amounts.
ADV as reply
`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 quant If you do not see much of someone, you do not see them very often.
with brd-neg, QUANT of n-proper/pron
I don't see much of Tony nowadays...
8 det 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...
Much is also an adverb., adv how ADV, ADV with cl, ADV compar
She knows how much this upsets me but she persists in doing it...
Much is also a pronoun., pron how PRON
How much do you earn?...
9 det You use much in the expression as much when you are comparing amounts.
as DET n, usu as DET n as cl/group
Their aim will be to produce as much milk as possible...
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 hope to go home tomorrow, they're resigned to staying on until the end of the year.
11 You use as much in expressions such as `I thought as much' and `I guessed as much' after you have just been told something and you want to say that you already believed or expected it to be true.
as much phrase v PHR
You're waiting for a woman<endash>I thought as much.
12 You use as much as before an amount to suggest that it is surprisingly large.
as much as phrase PHR amount (emphasis)
The organisers hope to raise as much as £6m for charity.
13 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.
much less phrase PHR cl/group, PHR before v
They are always short of water to drink, much less to bathe in...
14 You say nothing much to refer to something that is not very interesting or important.
nothing much phrase
`What was stolen?'—`Oh, nothing much.'...
15 If you describe something as not much of a particular type of thing, you mean that it is small or of poor quality.
not much of a phrase PHR n
It hasn't been much of a holiday...
16 So much for is used to indicate that you have finished talking about a subject.
so much for phrase PHR n
Well, so much for the producers. But what of the consumers?
17 If you say so much for a particular thing, you mean that it has not been successful or helpful.
so much for phrase PHR n
He has spent 19 million pounds, lost three cup finals and been relegated. So much for money.
18 If you say that something is not so much one thing as another, you mean that it is more like the second thing than the first.
not so much phrase with brd-neg, PHR group, PHR before v
I don't really think of her as a daughter so much as a very good friend...
19 If you say that someone did not do so much as perform a particular action, you are emphasizing that they did not even do that, when you were expecting them to do more.
so much as phrase with brd-neg, PHR before v (emphasis)
I didn't so much as catch sight of him all day long...
20 You use so much so to indicate that your previous statement is true to a very great extent, and therefore it has the result mentioned.
so much so phrase PHR that
He himself believed in freedom, so much so that he would rather die than live without it.
21 If a situation or action is too muchfor you, it is so difficult, tiring, or upsetting that you cannot cope with it.
too much phrase v-link PHR, oft PHR for n
His inability to stay at one job for long had finally proved too much for her.
22 You use very much to emphasize that someone or something has a lot of a particular quality, or that the description you are about to give is particularly accurate.
very much phrase oft PHR n (emphasis)
...a man very much in charge of himself...
a bit much →
not up to much →
Much- combines with past participles to form adjectives which emphasize the intensity of the specified state or action. comb in adj
I'm having a much-needed rest., ...a much-improved version of last season's model.
If you describe someone or something as much-maligned, you mean that they are often criticized by people, but you think the criticism is unfair or exaggerated because they have good qualities too. adj usu ADJ n
I'm happy for James. He's a much-maligned player but has tremendous spirit.
in AM, use much-traveled
A much-travelled person has travelled a lot in foreign countries. adj