iota

[ ahy-oh-tuh ]

noun

1. a very small quantity; jot; whit.

   Synonyms: mite, grain, atom, particle, bit

2. the ninth letter of the Greek alphabet (I, ι).
3. the vowel sound represented by this letter.

iota

/ aɪˈəʊtə /

noun

1. the ninth letter in the Greek alphabet (Ι, ι), a vowel or semivowel, transliterated as i or j
2. usually used with a negative a very small amount; jot (esp in the phrase not one or an iota )

Word History and Origins

Origin of iota¹

1600–10; < Latin iōta < Greek iôta < Semitic; compare Hebrew yōdh yod

Word History and Origins

Origin of iota¹

C16: via Latin from Greek, of Semitic origin; see jot

Idioms and Phrases

see not one iota .

Example Sentences

Couch was not sentenced to an iota of time in a juvenile detention center or prison.

From The Daily Beast

In this crisis, there were no hands on deck—no one willing to budge one iota from their respective ideological corners.

From The Daily Beast

When I look at Netanyahu and Barak, I don't see an iota of leadership qualities in either of them.

From The Daily Beast

They have no toys and not one iota of affection and connections with staff, which leads to attachment issues.

From The Daily Beast

Any attempt to encroach on it, even by an iota, will ultimately lead to our enslavement by a federal tyranny.

From The Daily Beast

She was growing a little stout, but it did not seem to detract an iota from the grace of every step, pose, gesture.

From Project Gutenberg

That if all your ideas were carried out—yes, carried out to the full—you would not advance the cause of humanity one iota.

From Project Gutenberg

Every iota of cleverness must be given to find a way out of Schloss Szolnok.

From Project Gutenberg

To empty his revolver into the head of one, and the body of another was that of the same iota of time.

From Project Gutenberg

It is pathetic to see how excited they become about remote events which cannot affect their happiness one iota.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• ounce
• smidgen
• speck
• whit