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"less" is also used as a crossword clue. If that's what you saw, the answer is often minus (5 letters).
Definitions
A smaller amount; to a smaller degree
Word origin
Adverb From Middle English les, lesse, leasse, lasse, from Old English lǣs (“smaller, less”), from Proto-Germanic *laisiz, from Proto-Indo-European *leys- (“to shrink, grow thin, be gentle”). Cognate with Old Frisian lēs (“less”), Old Saxon lēs (“less”). According to Kroonen (2013), from a northern Indo-European root Proto-Indo-European *leh₂is- or *leh₃is-, which he connects to Lithuanian liesas (“lean”).
Used in a sentence
“I slept even less last night than I did the night before.”
“I like him less each time I see him.”
“All my cares grew less until completely gone.”
Source: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0
Used as a crossword answer1 curated clues
01“Smaller amount”4 letters
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