tiny
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of tiny
First recorded in 1590–1600; late Middle English tine “very small” + -y 1; further origin uncertain
Explanation
Tiny means very small. Atoms are tiny. Hawaii is tiny, in comparison to the continental US. If you wear a size five shoe as an adult, you could be said to have tiny feet. Throughout the world there are stories about tiny mythical heroes, such as Tom Thumb, a tiny baby, who grew into a tiny child then a man so tiny he was no larger than an average man's thumb. One of the things that people love about doll houses are seeing all the artifacts we live with day to day replicated in miniature, or tiny, form.
Vocabulary lists containing tiny
It's the Little Things: Synonyms for "Small"
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"Eleven," Vocabulary from the short story
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"Imperfect Me"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
So the fact that I get to do it and that I have a tiny bit of control over what I get to do is a real gift because it was very unexpected.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026
Taiwan, the US ally and self-governed island that Beijing claims, produces the majority of the world's most advanced chips, the tiny processors that sit inside smartphones, laptops and AI data centres.
From BBC • Jun. 9, 2026
"Unlike conventional materials, metamaterials are built with tiny, repeating patterns that interact with energy in precise ways," said Sheng Shen, a professor of mechanical engineering at Carnegie Mellon University and senior author of the study.
From Science Daily • Jun. 8, 2026
Some races were decided on tiny margins; Senn lost hers by 33 votes.
From Salon • Jun. 8, 2026
I turned the oval over in my hands, looking at the work she’d already done, each stitch tiny and regular on the back, but the colors on the front were wild and fluid.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
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.
