| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |
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| PRONUNCIATION: |  pl s |
| CONJUNCTION: | 1. Mathematics Increased by the addition of: Two plus two is four. 2. Added to; along with: Their strength plus their spirit makes them formidable. Intelligence plus wit makes for an interesting person. 3. Usage Problem And: “[He] is a committed man, plus he has imagination, vitality and national stature” (Merv Griffin). | | ADJECTIVE: | 1. Positive or on the positive part of a scale: a plus value; a temperature of plus five degrees. 2. Added or extra: a plus benefit. 3. Informal Increased to a further degree or number: “At 70 plus, [he] is old enough to be metaphysical” (Anatole Broyard). 4. Ranking on the higher end of a designated scale: a grade of C plus. 5. Physics Positive. | | NOUN: | Inflected forms: pl. plus·es or plus·ses
1. Mathematics The plus sign (+). 2. A positive quantity. 3. A favorable condition or factor: The clear weather was a plus for the golf tournament. | | ETYMOLOGY: | Latin pl s, more. See pel -1 in Appendix I. | | USAGE NOTE: | When mathematical equations are pronounced as English sentences, the verb is usually in the singular: Two plus two is (or equals) four. By the same token, subjects containing two noun phrases joined by plus are usually construed as singular: The construction slowdown plus the bad weather has made for a weak market. This observation has led some to argue that in these sentences, plus functions as a preposition meaning “in addition to.” But if this were true, the plus phrase could be moved to the beginning of the sentence. Clearly, this is not the case—we do not say Plus the bad weather, the construction slowdown has made for a weak market. It makes more sense to view plus in these uses as a conjunction that joins two subjects into a single entity requiring a single verb by notional agreement, just as and does in the sentence Chips and beans is her favorite appetizer. •The usage plus which in The construction industry has been hurt by the rise in rates. Plus which, bad weather has affected housing starts is not well established in formal writing; nor is plus accepted as correct in introducing an independent clause, as in She has a great deal of talent, plus she is willing to work hard.
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| The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by the Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. |
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