minus1/ˋmaInəs; ˈmaInəs/prep 1 used to show that one number is being taken away from another [→ plus] 减﹐减去: 17 minus five is 12 (17 – 5 = 12). 17 减 5 等于 12。see box at见 CALCULATE 方框2 a minus number is below zero〔数字〕负的﹐小于零的: Temperatures tonight will fall to minus 8. 今晚气温将下降到零下八度。3 without something that would normally be there 缺少〔应有的某物〕: He came back minus a couple of front teeth. 他回来时少了两颗门牙。
minus2n [C] something bad about a situation [→ plus] 不利条件﹐不足﹐缺点: There are pluses and minuses to living in a big city. 生活在大城市有利也有弊。On the minus side , there is no free back-up service if things go wrong. 不足之处是没有免费的备份服务以防发生故障。