dwarf
A dwarf is defined as a person or thing that is much smaller than typical.
(noun)An example of a dwarf is a sunflower that only grows to two feet tall.
Dwarf means to keep or make small, or to make something seem small by comparison.
(verb)- An example of dwarf is pruning a tree so it doesn't grow any taller.
- An example of dwarf is placing a tall person next to a shorter person to make the shorter person feel extremely short.
The definition of dwarf is a person or thing that hasn't or won't reach typical size.
(adjective)An example of dwarf is the planet Ceres.
See dwarf in Webster's New World College Dictionary
- any human being, animal, or plant that is much smaller than the usual one of its species
- Folklore a little being in human form, usually ugly or malformed, to whom magic powers are attributed
- a star of relatively small size or mass and low luminosity
Origin: ME dwerf, dwergh < OE dweorg, akin to Ger zwerg < IE *dhwergh-, prob. < base *dhwer-, to trick, injure > Sans dhvarati, (he) injures
transitive verb
- to keep from growing to full natural size
- to make small or insignificant
- to make seem small by comparison
intransitive verb
adjective
Related Forms:
- dwarfish adjective
- dwarfishness noun
- dwarfism noun
See dwarf in American Heritage Dictionary 4
noun pl. dwarfs dwarfs or dwarves (dwôrvz)
- a. An abnormally small person, often having limbs and features atypically proportioned or formed.b. An atypically small animal or plant.
- A small creature resembling a human, often ugly, appearing in legends and fairy tales.
- A dwarf star.
- To check the natural growth or development of; stunt: “The oaks were dwarfed from lack of moisture” (John Steinbeck).
- To cause to appear small by comparison: “Together these two big men dwarfed the tiny Broadway office” (Saul Bellow).
Origin:
Origin: Middle English dwerf
Origin: , from Old English dweorh
.Related Forms:
- dwarfˈish adjective
- dwarfˈish·ness noun
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