than

1. 1
   compare (thing)preposition

   Used after a comparative or after 'more', 'less', or 'fewer' to introduce the standard of comparison.

   She earns more than her manager.

   Fewer than ten people came.

   Usagebigger than (not incorrect: more bigger than). Everyday English says than me; with a verb, than I am.

2. 2
   conjunction

   Used after other, else, rather, or different to name what is ruled out, passed over for an alternative, or held up as a contrast.

   Rather than complain to the landlord, he fixed the leak himself.

   The town looks very different than it did twenty years ago.

   UsageRather than can take a base verb or an -ing form: rather than wait, rather than waiting.

   Note

   Different than is the disputed member of this set. Usage critics long preferred different from, and British speakers also say different to, but different than is standard in American English, especially before a clause: the town looks different than it did avoids the wordier different from the way it looked. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

   • Usage critics historically preferred different from over different than. languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu
3. 3
   conjunction

   Used after a comparative to introduce the second term of a comparison.

   He worked harder than anyone expected.

   The drive home took far longer than we had planned.

   Usagebigger than (not incorrect: bigger then). With a verb after it, use the subject form: than I am, than he does.

   Note

   The clause is often clipped, as in more than came last year, where than stands in for the missing subject. After no sooner, the pattern means one event followed straight after another: no sooner had we got home than it began to snow. It began as a variant of Old English þonne, "then," and the two spellings are still confused. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

   • Than derives from an Old English variant of þonne, meaning 'then'. en.wiktionary.org

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