of little or no importance or consequence.
petty grievances.
of lesser or secondary importance, merit, etc.; minor.
petty considerations.
having or showing narrow ideas, interests, etc..
petty minds.
mean or ungenerous in small or trifling things.
a petty person.
showing or caused by meanness of spirit.
a petty revenge.
of secondary rank, especially in relation to others of the same class or kind.
petty states; a petty tyrant.
Richard, born 1937, U.S. racing-car driver.
William, 2nd Earl of Shelburne, 1st Marquis of Lansdowne. William Petty Fitzmaurice Lansdowne.
trivial; trifling; inessential
petty details
of a narrow-minded, mean, or small-natured disposition or character
petty spite
minor or subordinate in rank
petty officialdom
law of lesser importance
Petty, paltry, trifling, trivial apply to something that is so insignificant as to be almost unworthy of notice. Petty implies contemptible insignificance and littleness, inferiority and small worth: petty quarrels. Paltry is applied to something that is beneath one's notice, even despicable: a paltry amount. Something that is trifling is so unimportant and inconsiderable as to be practically negligible: a trifling error. Something that is trivial is slight, insignificant, and even in incongruous contrast to something that is significant or important: a trivial remark; a trivial task.
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English peti(t) “small, minor,” from Old French petit, from unattested Gallo-Romance pittīttus, of expressive origin
Petty used to mean just "petite" or "small," but now it's used for things that are trivial and shouldn’t matter much. If you host world leaders and spend more time picking napkins than memorizing names, you're focused on petty things. A few neutral meanings of petty are still in use today — such as "petty cash," which refers to a small amount of cash on hand — but most uses of petty since the 16th century are negative, as in "narrow-minded," "trivial," and "of little importance." A "petty argument" is a popular expression, because many people get all worked up over something that isn't very important — a petty concern — that seems much smaller after the heat of the moment.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Drake turns the frigid, isolated mansion rap that’s become his trademark toward relitigating the last half-decade of petty squabbles and minor slights.
From Salon • May 21, 2026
"There was still humour, good food, movies, school, petty fights, and romance. To suggest otherwise is to reduce a culture to its trauma," she said.
From BBC • May 19, 2026
It feels like a petty grievance—yet another example of greatness being conflated with dullness.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 18, 2026
Her neighbour, 71-year-old Kusum Mishra, who arrived 50 years ago, also dismissed the "petty compensation" offered, complaining that "they are uprooting us and destroying our lives."
From Barron's • May 18, 2026
There is no spiritual symbiosis; I'm just a petty thief who lifts his memories the same way I’ll take a handful of change left on his dresser.
From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
