Less Than or Less Then? The Correct Phrase Explained

Less than is the correct phrase when you compare a smaller amount, number, or degree. Less then is incorrect when you mean a comparison.

You may type a sentence and suddenly wonder which word belongs in the phrase. Should you write, “The package arrived in less than an hour” or “less then an hour”?

The difference is only one letter, but the two words have completely different jobs.

Than is used for comparisons, while then usually refers to time, sequence, or what happens next. That makes less than the correct phrase for showing that something is smaller or lower than something else.

Once you understand what than and then mean, this common mistake becomes much easier to avoid.

Quick Answer

Less than is correct when comparing an amount, number, size, degree, or value. Less then is incorrect for this meaning. Use than after a comparison, while then usually refers to time or sequence. For example, “I have less than five dollars” is correct.

Quick Rule

Use “less than” for comparisons; use “then” when talking about time, order, or what happens next.

What Does “Less Than” Mean?

Less than means a smaller amount, number, degree, or value when compared with something else. It is commonly used with numbers, measurements, time, money, quantities, and other comparisons. Grammarly also identifies than as the word used for comparisons.

For example:

I have less than $20.

This means the amount is below $20.

Another example:

The trip took less than two hours.

This means the trip took under two hours.

You can also use less than with degrees or amounts that are not exact numbers.

The new model costs less than the old one.

She spent less than expected.

The important idea is comparison.

You are saying that one thing has a smaller amount or degree than another.

Simple meaning

Less than = a smaller amount or degree compared with something else.

Read More: Saw or Seen? The Correct Form Explained

Why Is “Less Than” Correct?

Less than is correct because than is the standard conjunction used to introduce the second part of a comparison. Then has a different function and usually relates to time, sequence, or a result.

Compare the two words:

Than

Use than when making a comparison.

My bag is heavier than yours.

She is younger than her brother.

The movie was shorter than I expected.

Then

Use then when talking about time, order, or a sequence.

We ate dinner and then watched a movie.

Finish your homework then call me.

I lived there then.

This difference explains why less than is correct.

The phrase makes a comparison:

Ten is less than twenty.

You would not use then in that sentence.

Less Than or Less Then

Less than and less then are not two different versions of the same phrase. Less than is the correct expression for comparisons, while less then is usually a spelling mistake caused by confusing the words than and then.

Phrase	Correct?	Use	Example
less than	Yes	Comparison	I have less than $10.
less then	No for comparison	Incorrect form	I have less then $10.

Correct

The box weighs less than five pounds.

Incorrect

The box weighs less then five pounds.

The mistake is easy to make because than and then look and sound similar.

However, their meanings are different.

A useful question is:

Am I comparing two things?

If the answer is yes, you probably need than.

Does “Less Then” Ever Make Sense?

Less then is correct only when less and then are two separate words. In that case, then means “after that,” and nothing is being compared. In a comparison, you always need than.

For example:

✅ The noise got less, then stopped.

✅ Eat less, then see how you feel.

Here, less is not comparing anything. The comma and the time order show that then means “next.”

Now compare this sentence:

❌ I have less then five dollars.

✅ I have less than five dollars.

Quick test: if a number, amount, or thing comes right after, use than.

Less vs Fewer: Are They the Same?

Less and fewer both describe smaller quantities, but traditional grammar distinguishes them by the type of noun they modify. Fewer is generally used with plural countable nouns, while less is generally used with uncountable or mass nouns.

Use fewer with countable nouns

We have fewer than ten students.

Students can be counted individually.

There were fewer than twenty cars.

Cars can also be counted.

Use less with uncountable nouns

We have less than ten minutes.

Time is treated as an amount here.

She drank less than a liter of water.

Water is an uncountable noun.

Compare

Fewer than 10 books

Less than 10 minutes

Fewer than 20 students

Less than 20 dollars

This distinction is useful when you want to write carefully and clearly.

Read More: Is It “Me Neither” or “Me Either”? A Clear Guide

Lesser Than or Less Than?

Use less than. Lesser than is not the standard phrase for comparing amounts, numbers, or time.

Lesser is an adjective that means smaller in importance, size, or degree. It usually comes before a noun, like the lesser of two evils or a lesser-known author.

Less is the word you use before than in a comparison.

✅ I have less than $10.

❌ I have lesser than $10.

You may see lesser than in informal writing, but less than is the safe choice for school, work, and everyday use.

How to Use “Less Than” in a Sentence

Less than can describe numbers, amounts, measurements, time, money, distance, and degrees. It usually introduces the value or amount being compared with a smaller quantity. The phrase is especially common in everyday and academic writing.

Here are some natural examples:

1. The meeting lasted less than an hour.
2. I have less than ten dollars.
3. The package weighs less than five pounds.
4. She is less than twenty years old.
5. The trip took less than three hours.
6. We need less than one gallon of paint.
7. The phone costs less than $500.
8. He finished the task in less than ten minutes.
9. The temperature dropped to less than 40 degrees.
10. The book has less than 200 pages.
11. The repair took less than a day.
12. I spend less than $50 each week.
13. The room is less than ten feet wide.
14. She walked less than a mile.
15. The answer took less than a minute to explain.
16. The company received less than expected.
17. The product contains less than one gram of sugar.
18. He slept for less than six hours.
19. The class lasted less than 45 minutes.
20. The car uses less than five gallons of fuel.

Notice that than appears in every comparison.

Less Than With Numbers

Less than is commonly used before numbers to show that a value is below another number. You can use it with prices, ages, measurements, time, scores, distances, and many other quantities.

For example:

The answer is less than 50.

This means the answer is below 50.

The child is less than 10 years old.

This means the child’s age is below 10.

The trip is less than 100 miles.

This means the distance is below 100 miles.

The less-than symbol

In mathematics, the symbol < means “less than.”

For example:

3 < 8

This means:

3 is less than 8.

Another example:

15 < 20

This means:

15 is less than 20.

The smaller number appears on the pointed side of the symbol.

A useful way to remember it is:

3 < 8

The symbol opens toward the larger number.

Greater Than vs Less Than: How to Tell the Symbols Apart

The symbol < means less than. The symbol > means greater than. The open side always faces the bigger number.

3 < 8 means 3 is less than 8.

8 > 3 means 8 is greater than 3.

Both say the same thing, just from opposite sides.

Symbol	Name	Example	Read as
<	Less than	4 < 9	4 is less than 9
>	Greater than	9 > 4	9 is greater than 4

Another trick: the < symbol looks like a tilted L, and L stands for less.

Less Than or Equal To (≤) and “Strictly Less Than”

The symbol ≤ means less than or equal to. Strictly less than means less than only, with no “equal” option. That is what < shows.

For example:

• x < 5 means x can be any number below 5, but not 5.
• x ≤ 5 means x can be 5 or any number below 5.

So:

• 5 < 5 is false.
• 5 ≤ 5 is true.
• 4 ≤ 5 is true.

The matching symbol on the other side is ≥, which means greater than or equal to.

The phrase is always less than or equal to, never “less then or equal to.”

Less Than With Time

Less than is very common when describing periods of time. It means the amount of time is below the stated period.

Examples:

The movie lasted less than two hours.

I finished the assignment in less than 30 minutes.

The package arrived in less than a week.

She completed the race in less than an hour.

In each sentence, than introduces a comparison.

You can also say:

It took less than five minutes.

This means the time required was under five minutes.

Less Than an Hour, a Week, or a Month

Write less than an hour, less than a week, or less than a month. Each one means the time is shorter than that period. The word is always than, never then.

• Less than an hour means under 60 minutes.
• Less than a week means under seven days.
• Less than a month means under one month.

Use an before hour because the h is silent.

❌ It took less then a hour.

✅ It took less than an hour.

✅ The parcel arrived in less than a week.

✅ I started the job less than a month ago.

Less Than With Money

You can use less than when comparing prices or amounts of money.

Examples:

The shirt costs less than $30.

I spent less than $100.

The meal was less than $20.

The repair cost less than expected.

These sentences compare an actual amount with another amount or expected value.

Do not write:

❌ The shirt costs less then $30.

Write:

✅ The shirt costs less than $30.

Common Mistakes With “Less Than”

The most common mistake is replacing than with then. This usually happens because the words look and sound similar. Another mistake is confusing less than with fewer than when discussing countable nouns.

Mistake 1: Less then

❌ I have less then five dollars.

✅ I have less than five dollars.

The sentence makes a comparison, so use than.

Mistake 2: Fewer vs. less

❌ There are less than ten students.

In careful traditional grammar, fewer than is generally preferred because students is a plural countable noun.

✅ There are fewer than ten students.

Grammarly explains this common distinction between fewer and less.

Mistake 3: Confusing then with than

❌ This phone is cheaper then that one.

✅ This phone is cheaper than that one.

The sentence compares two phones.

Therefore, than is needed.

Mistake 4: Using then after every comparative word

Not every sentence with a comparison uses then.

For example:

She is taller than me.

Not:

She is taller then me.

The word than belongs with comparative constructions.

Lower Than, Smaller Than, Shorter Than: Same Rule

Words like lower, smaller, shorter, cheaper, and fewer also take than when you compare two things. Then is wrong in all of them.

Wrong	Correct	Example
lower then	lower than	The price is lower than last year.
smaller then	smaller than	This room is smaller than mine.
shorter then	shorter than	Her speech was shorter than his.
cheaper then	cheaper than	Buses are cheaper than taxis.
fewer then	fewer than	We sold fewer than ten tickets.

Also check the word form. Write smaller than, not “small then” or “small than.”

If you are comparing, use than. Use then only for time or order.

Then or Than: An Easy Explanation

Than and then have different jobs. Than is mainly used for comparisons, while then usually describes when something happens or what happens next.

Than = comparison

John is taller than Mark.

This costs less than that.

She runs faster than I do.

Then = time or sequence

We went home then.

First eat dinner, then wash the dishes.

I was younger then.

A quick test can help.

If you can replace the word with “compared with”, you probably need than.

Less than $20.

Think:

Less compared with $20.

That tells you than is the correct choice.

Memory Trick for “Less Than”

The easiest way to remember less than is to connect than with comparison.

Think:

Than = comparison

Then = time or order

So:

Less than = comparison

Then = what happens next

You can also remember the common phrase:

less than

It is always spelled with than when you mean a smaller amount or value.

Quick memory line

Less than compares; then moves through time.

That simple rule can help you avoid the mistake in emails, school assignments, and everyday writing.

When Should You Use “Less Than”?

Use less than when you want to say that something is below another amount, number, degree, value, measurement, or limit.

Common examples include:

• less than $50
• less than an hour
• less than 10 miles
• less than 20 degrees
• less than expected
• less than half
• less than before
• less than necessary

For example:

The project cost less than expected.

Here, the actual cost was lower than what someone expected.

Another example:

The test was less than an hour long.

The test lasted under one hour.

Can “Less Than” Mean “Not Very”?

Yes, less than can sometimes be used before an adjective to express a low degree or an unfavorable judgment. This use is different from a simple numerical comparison.

For example:

His explanation was less than helpful.

This suggests that his explanation was not very helpful.

Another example:

The result was less than perfect.

This means the result was not perfect.

The phrase still contains than, not then.

So even when there is no number, the spelling remains:

less than

“No Less Than” and “Nothing Less Than”

No less than means “as much as” and stresses a large amount. Nothing less than means only the full thing will do. Both use than.

✅ She won no less than three awards.

✅ He expects nothing less than the best.

❌ She won no less then three awards.

Quick Practice: Less Than or Less Then?

Try this short worksheet. Fill in the blanks.

1. The trip took ___ two hours.
2. Finish dinner, ___ go to bed.
3. This bag is cheaper ___ that one.
4. We have ___ ten students. (less than / fewer than)
5. She arrived in less than ___ hour. (a / an)
6. The noise got less, ___ stopped.
7. 4 ___ 9 (use < or >)
8. If x ≤ 6, can x be 6?

Answers: 1) than, 2) then, 3) than, 4) fewer than, 5) an, 6) then, 7) <, 8) Yes

FAQs

Is it “less than” or “less then”?

Less than is correct when you are making a comparison. Less then is incorrect for this meaning.

What does “less than” mean?

Less than means a smaller amount, number, degree, or value compared with something else.

What is the difference between “than” and “then”?

Than is mainly used for comparisons. Then usually refers to time, sequence, or what happens next.

Is “less then 10” correct?

No. The correct form is less than 10 because the phrase compares a value with 10.

Should I say “less than” or “fewer than”?

Use fewer than with plural countable nouns in careful traditional usage. Use less than with uncountable amounts and mass nouns.

Is “less than 5” grammatically correct?

Yes. Less than 5 means a value below 5.

What is the symbol for less than?

The mathematical symbol for less than is <. For example, 3 < 5 means that 3 is less than 5.

Is “less then” ever correct?

The sequence less then can technically occur if then has its normal meaning in a particular sentence. However, it is not correct when you mean the comparison less than.

How do I remember “less than”?

Remember that than is used for comparisons. If you are comparing two amounts, numbers, or degrees, use than.

Is “less than” used with time?

Yes. For example, The meeting lasted less than an hour. It means the meeting lasted under one hour.

Is it “lower than” or “lower then”?

Lower than is correct. You are comparing two things, so you need than.

Is “lesser than” correct?

Less than is the standard phrase. Lesser is an adjective that usually comes before a noun, as in “the lesser of two evils.”

What does ≤ mean?

≤ means less than or equal to. For example, 5 ≤ 5 and 4 ≤ 5 are both true.

Conclusion:

Less than is the correct phrase when you are making a comparison. It means a smaller amount, number, value, or degree. Less then is a common mistake caused by confusing than with then.

Remember the simple rule: than is for comparison, while then is usually for time or sequence.

So write:

I have less than $20.

Not:

I have less then $20.

If you remember what each word does, choosing the correct form becomes much easier.

Read More: Color or Colour? The Correct Spelling in American and British English