little Definition
lit·tle (lit′'l)
adjective lit′·tler or less or less′er, lit′·tlest or least
- small in size; not big, large, or great
- small in amount, number, or degree; not much
- short in duration or distance; brief; not long
- small in importance or power the rights of the little man
- small in force, intensity, etc.; weak
- trivial; trifling
- lacking in breadth of vision; narrow-minded; illiberal a little mind
- young: said of children or animals
- younger her little brother
Etymology: ME littel < OE lytel (akin to Ger dial. lützel) < base of lyt, small (< IE base *leud-, to stoop > Welsh lludded, fatigue), infl. by ON litill, small (akin to Goth leitils) < IE base *lei-, to decline, be lean > less
adverb less, least
- in a small degree; to a slight extent; only slightly; not much
- not in the least he little suspects the plot
noun
- small amount, degree, etc.: often used with a and having adverbial force a little crazy
- not much little will be done about it
- a short time or distance
little Related Forms
little Idioms
in little
on a small scale; in miniature
little by little
by slow degrees or small amounts; gradually
make little of
to treat as not very important; depreciate
not a little
very much; very
some little
rather extensive; fairly full
little Synonyms
little
modif.
Small in size
diminutive, dwarfish, small, tiny, shrunk, atomic, wee, undersized, not big, not large, stunted, limited, cramped, wizened, scraggy, imperceptible, light, slight, microscopic, short, Lilliputian, runty, embryonic, elfin, invisible, shriveled, amoebic, microzoic, animalcular, pugged, vestigial, stubby, truncated, snub, molecular, microbic, toy, miniature, scrubby, cramped, puny, pygmy, dwarfed, inappreciable, bantam, half-pint*, pocket-sized*, pint-sized*; see also minute 1.Small in quantity
inappreciable, inconsiderable, insufficient; see inadequate 1.Few in number
Brief
Small in importance
trifling, insignificant, inconsiderable; see trivial, unimportant.Small in character
Weak
stunted, runty, undersized; see weak 1. See syn. study at small.
make little of
little Synonyms
little Usage Examples
Preposition: on
side: The younger sister, Paula, is also said to be a little on the stupid side, perhaps a high-grade moron.
Preposition: as
99p: Cover starts from as little as 99p for up to 2 years peace of mind.
Preposition: over
hour: It usually take a little over an hour, but it was taking 8 hours to get here from N.O.
Modifies a noun
- bit: They wanted the bridge to look a little bit like the old bridge.
- girl: There's a little girl sitting in the middle of the road.
- boy: I was no longer a sweet obedient little boy.
- while: Jehoiada then passes away, after the king had called him to task; for such was his zeal for a little while.
- evidence: However, there is little evidence for this version of events.
Used with adjective complement
- know: He appeared to know very little about Mr Gordon, and had taken up no references.
- do: No, you can do as little as you want.
- say: Much more could be said about this man who himself said very little.
- cost: It costs relatively little, and could save you a lot.
- have: The test has very little to do with security.
Infinitive complement
- do: The test has very little to do with security.
- say: He was very shy and had little to say except when spoken to.
Modifying Another Word
- very: The test has very little to do with security.
- relatively: There is relatively little Government involvement in business in the Bahamas, particularly for offshore businesses.
- too: Nevertheless, the best efforts of the British press amounted to too little, too late.
Preposition: in
way: There was very little in the way of resources and Jeremy Dawson's very first challenge was to confront this issue.
Browse dictionary entries near little
- ‹ littery
- ‹ littermate
- ‹ litterbug
- ‹ litterbag
- ‹ litter
- ‹ litten
- ‹ LittD
- ‹ LittB
- ‹ littérateur
- ‹ litre

