Less(by a certain amount): followed by a noun as an apparent object (a preposition, by, to be supplied): as, the net amount is so much minus the waste or tare; 25 minus 9 is 16.
Less than nothing; belonging to the inverse or negative side, as of an account; lying in the direction from the origin of measurement opposite to ordinary quantities: below zero, or below the lowest point of positive or upward reckoning: as, a minus amount or sum (that, is, an amount or sum representing loss or debt); a minus quantity in an equation (that is, one having the minus sign before it); the tempera ture was minus twenty degrees (written —20, and read “twenty degrees below zero”)
Marking or yielding less than nothing or less than zero; negative in value or result: as, the minus sign (see def. 1).
Deprived or devoid of; not having; without, as something necessary: as, he escaped minus his hat and coat; a gun minus its lock.
Lacking positive value; wanting.