dwarf
Americannoun
-
dwarves,
plural
-
dwarfs
plural
-
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.
-
an animal or plant much smaller than the average of its kind or species.
- Synonyms:
- runt
-
(in folklore) a being in the form of a small, often misshapen man, usually having magic powers.
-
Astronomy. dwarf star.
adjective
verb (used with object)
-
dwarfs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
dwarfed,
past participle, past
-
dwarfing
present participle
-
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.
-
to make dwarf or dwarfish; prevent the due development of.
verb (used without object)
-
dwarfs,
present (3rd person singular)
-
dwarfed,
past participle, past
-
dwarfing
present participle
noun
-
an abnormally undersized person, esp one with a large head and short arms and legs Compare midget
-
-
an animal or plant much below the average height for the species
-
( as modifier )
a dwarf tree
-
-
(in folklore) a small ugly manlike creature, often possessing magical powers
-
astronomy short for dwarf star
verb
-
to become or cause to become comparatively small in size, importance, etc
-
(tr) to stunt the growth of
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An abnormally small person, often having limbs and features atypically proportioned or formed.
-
An atypically small animal or plant.
-
A dwarf star or dwarf galaxy.
Sensitivity
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
-
dwarflikeadjective
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undwarfedadjective
-
dwarfishlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
dwarfsimple
-
dwarfssimple
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have dwarfedperfect
-
has dwarfedperfect
-
am dwarfingprogressive
-
are dwarfingprogressive
-
is dwarfingprogressive
-
have been dwarfingperfect progressive
-
has been dwarfingperfect progressive
Past
-
dwarfedsimple
-
had dwarfedperfect
-
was dwarfingprogressive
-
were dwarfingprogressive
-
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 results suggest that magnetic fields could fundamentally alter how massive a white dwarf can become.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 6, 2026
Across a preliminary evening and three “days”—“Das Rheingold,” “Die Walküre,” “Siegfried” and “Götterdämmerung”—the dwarf Alberich renounces love, steals the Rhine’s gold and forges an all-powerful ring that Wotan, ruler of the gods, steals.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
And while reporters waited to question him on how he would govern when Democrats take control of Congress, Trump kept talking about how the ballroom's classical columns would dwarf those of the US Supreme Court.
From Barron's ● Nov. 4, 2026
And that cycle is shaping up to be so large as to dwarf those that came before it, by his calculations.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 30, 2026
“The ballista fired the first dwarf in that direction, I think. Come on.”
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
Giants, dwarfs, a dragon, a magic sword and encircling fire have made the “Ring” easy to parody, yet these fantasy details are not its dramatic essence.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
The team expanded the software to account for magnetic fields and the cooling of white dwarfs.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 6, 2026
However, demonstrating that such massive white dwarfs could theoretically exist is only part of the challenge.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 6, 2026
The eye-popping amount of money that SpaceX and Anthropic are raising dwarfs what dot-coms raised during the internet IPO boom.
From Barron's ● Oct. 27, 2026
The dwarfs led Kvasir to their workshop, deep within the walls of their fortress.
From "Norse Mythology" by Neil Gaiman
The inhabitants of Middle-earth—hobbits, dwarves, elves, Black Riders, wizards—come to us with characteristics not common to other species, including our own.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 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
Here, it was pure joy to watch HORA’s actors embrace their inner hobbits, dwarves, wizards, orcs and elves — including one that yodels!
From New York Times ● May 10, 2024
There's also a debate over the fate of the seven dwarves, after unofficial images emerged of what have now been billed as seven "magical creatures".
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2023
Barliman Butterbur was standing near the fire, talking to a couple of dwarves and one or two strange-looking men.
From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien
Olsen said hedging strategies as a whole are still dwarfed by the AI trade.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 1, 2026
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
The outbreak in Michigan this year has dwarfed previous outbreaks of the illness in the state, which recorded only about 50 cases of cyclosporiasis in 2025.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 7, 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
The orchards of peaches with the lush fruit weighting down the dwarfed trees.
From "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson McCullers
Rejection rates in counties where services were cut doubled or tripled from what they were four years ago, dwarfing any increases in counties where postal pickups remained as they were, our analysis showed.
From Salon ● Oct. 24, 2026
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
The United States now has the highest rate of incarceration in the world, dwarfing the rates of nearly every developed country, even surpassing those in highly repressive regimes like Russia, China, and Iran.
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
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