dwarf
Americannoun
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dwarves,
plural
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dwarfs
plural
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a person of abnormally small physical stature resulting from a medical or genetic condition, especially a person with achondroplasia or some other disease that produces disproportion or deformation of features and limbs.
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an animal or plant much smaller than the average of its kind or species.
- Synonyms:
- runt
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(in folklore) a being in the form of a small, often misshapen man, usually having magic powers.
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Astronomy. dwarf star.
adjective
verb (used with object)
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dwarfs,
present (3rd person singular)
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dwarfed,
past participle, past
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dwarfing
present participle
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to cause to appear or seem small in size, extent, character, etc., as by being much larger or better.
He dwarfed all his rivals in athletic ability.
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to make dwarf or dwarfish; prevent the due development of.
verb (used without object)
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dwarfs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
dwarfed,
past participle, past
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dwarfing
present participle
noun
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an abnormally undersized person, esp one with a large head and short arms and legs Compare midget
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an animal or plant much below the average height for the species
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( as modifier )
a dwarf tree
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(in folklore) a small ugly manlike creature, often possessing magical powers
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astronomy short for dwarf star
verb
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to become or cause to become comparatively small in size, importance, etc
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(tr) to stunt the growth of
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An abnormally small person, often having limbs and features atypically proportioned or formed.
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An atypically small animal or plant.
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A dwarf star or dwarf galaxy.
Sensitive Note
Is it OK to say dwarf? See midget.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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dwarfishnessnoun
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dwarfnessnoun
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dwarfishadjective
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dwarflikeadjective
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undwarfedadjective
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dwarfishlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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dwarfsimple
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dwarfssimple
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have dwarfedperfect
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has dwarfedperfect
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am dwarfingprogressive
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are dwarfingprogressive
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is dwarfingprogressive
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have been dwarfingperfect progressive
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has been dwarfingperfect progressive
Past
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dwarfedsimple
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had dwarfedperfect
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was dwarfingprogressive
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were dwarfingprogressive
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had been dwarfingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of dwarf
First recorded before 900; Middle English dwerf, Old English dweorh; replacing Middle English dwerg, Old English dweorg; cognate with Old High German twerg, Old Norse dvergr
Explanation
An unusually short, small person is sometimes called a dwarf. There are many different genetic medical conditions that can cause a person to be classified as a little person or a dwarf. Some people are offended by dwarf, preferring to be called "little people," "LP," or "people of short stature." The general condition that leads to delayed growth is called "dwarfism." The noun dwarf is also used for an unusually small animal or plant, or as a verb meaning "make something seem very small," as when a new apartment building dwarfs the surrounding houses. The Old English root dweorg referred to a tiny creature from German mythology.
Vocabulary lists containing dwarf
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.
See Examples For:
The story is told by an albino dwarf.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
Twenty years on, the big six are signing deals which dwarf that.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026
In the Lion Nebula, the oxygen-rich central star has died and left behind a white dwarf that is effectively "cooking" the nebula from within.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 12, 2026
Even a few flowery sentences in “Kitchen Confidential” about lessons learned working at The Dreadnaught dwarf “Tony” in comparison.
From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026
“Sharpnose sevengill, cookiecutter, great white, dwarf lantern, nurse, goblin, cookiecutter, basking.”
From "Caterpillar Summer" by Gillian McDunn
“The issue with the U.S. is that the size of the Treasury market dwarfs the combined size of the Japanese, U.K., E.U. and other countries in Asia.”
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
It is a body of work that dwarfs anything put together by his rivals.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Astronomers have long suspected that white dwarfs also receive kicks, but the process is much gentler because these stars do not explode.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 21, 2026
White dwarfs also release energy at a steady rate for billions of years, making them reliable long term power sources.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 10, 2026
He showed the gods what he had brought back from the workshop of the dwarfs, and they were amazed to see it.
From "Norse Mythology" by Neil Gaiman
It dwarves the revenues of a team from the other top five leagues.
From BBC ● May 28, 2026
Her follower count dwarves DfE's 85,000 followers and Bridget Phillipson's 19,000 followers.
From BBC ● May 20, 2026
The Trump administration has greenlighted its first new bank, and it is a startup that takes its name from a mountain where dwarves stored their treasure in J.R.R.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 6, 2026
It's not only that "The Rings of Power" is set in a high fantasy world of knights, sea worms and singing dwarves, it's that the prequel consistently highlights the achievement and strength of women.
From Salon ● Oct. 22, 2022
‘Oh, not what he told the dwarves and put in his book,’ said Frodo.
From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien
Last summer their gross transfer spend was £71m which was dwarfed by Manchester, City, Chelsea and Arsenal who were all over £200m while Wolves, who finished bottom last season, were £109m.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
Only seven companies have listed in London so far this year, a number dwarfed by the 15 that have de-listed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
While Irish farmers did export some food to Britain, "it was dwarfed by the amount being brought in for distribution by the UK government", he added.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
As large swings in individual stocks have recently dwarfed moves for the S&P 500 as a whole, the spread between two important gauges of implied volatility has expanded to its widest level on record.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 16, 2026
The robots, dwarfed by the mighty L-tube, lined up before it, heads bowed at a stiff angle, while Cutie walked up and down the line slowly.
From "I, Robot" by Isaac Asimov
While economists view this threshold as largely symbolic, the sheer magnitude is hard to overstate, dwarfing the entire annual output of the U.S. economy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
The old computer-software index showed prices rising at a record 17% yearly pace, dwarfing any prior increase.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 22, 2026
There were more than 323 million visits to America’s national parks in 2025, dwarfing attendance — 135 million — at professional football, baseball, basketball and hockey games combined.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2026
Middleton has spent more than $16 million of his own money on the race so far, dwarfing any of his previous political spending many times over.
From Salon ● May 23, 2026
On another Indonesian island—the small island of Flores—archaic humans underwent a process of dwarfing.
From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari
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.
