wee

American  

[wee] / wi /

adjective

weer, weest

1. little; very small.

   Synonyms:

   minuscule, diminutive, tiny

2. very early.

   in the wee hours of the morning.

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wee ¹ British  

/ wiː /

noun

1. 1. the act or an instance of urinating

   2. urine

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verb

1. (intr) to urinate

wee ² British  

/ wiː /

adjective

1. very small; tiny; minute

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noun

1. a short time (esp in the phrase bide a wee. )

Etymology

Origin of wee

before 1150 for an earlier sense; Middle English we, variant of wei (small) quantity, Old English wēg, Anglian form of wǣge weight, akin to wegan to weigh ¹

Example Sentences

Becoming emotional, Noel said Natalie was their "wee princess" and even though she lived in her own home, she visited her parents almost every day.

From BBC

"I came in early because I was showing signs of having my child a wee bit earlier, which I eventually did," she said.

From BBC

"We were not getting near them. You can just see that they're turning the dial a wee bit. We were killing ourselves."

From BBC

And McCollum had stayed up into the wee hours designing a number of bespoke plays specifically geared to take advantage of Florida’s ultra-aggressive defense.

From The Wall Street Journal

We checked into our hotel during the wee hours of the morning, all of us tired, slightly unkempt and desperately in need of a warm shower.

From Salon

Related Words

• microscopic
• teeny