little
Americanadjective
-
littler,
comparative
-
less,
comparative
-
lesser,
comparative
-
littlest,
superlative
-
least
superlative
-
small in size; not big; not large; tiny.
a little desk in the corner of the room.
-
short in duration; not extensive; short; brief.
a little while.
-
small in number.
a little group of scientists.
-
small in amount or degree; not much.
little hope.
-
of a certain amount; appreciable (usually preceded bya ).
We're having a little difficulty.
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being such on a small scale.
little farmers.
-
younger or youngest.
He's my little brother.
-
not strong, forceful, or loud; weak.
a little voice.
-
small in consideration, importance, position, affluence, etc..
little discomforts;
tax reductions to help the little fellow.
-
mean, narrow, or illiberal.
a little mind.
-
endearingly small or considered as such.
Bless your little heart!
-
amusingly small or so considered.
a funny little way of laughing.
-
contemptibly small, petty, mean, etc., or so considered.
filthy little political tricks.
adverb
noun
-
a small amount, quantity, or degree.
They did little to make him comfortable.
If you want some ice cream, there's a little in the refrigerator.
-
a short distance.
It's down the road a little.
-
a short time.
Stay here for a little.
idioms
-
think little of, to treat casually; regard as trivial.
They think little of driving 50 miles to see a movie.
-
little by little, by small degrees; gradually.
The water level rose little by little.
-
make little of,
-
to belittle.
to make little of one's troubles.
-
to understand or interpret only slightly.
Scholars made little of the newly discovered text.
-
-
in little, on a small scale; in miniature.
a replica in little of Independence Hall.
-
not a little, to a great extent; very much; considerably.
It tired me not a little to stand for three hours.
determiner
-
(often preceded by a)
-
a small quantity, extent, or duration of
the little hope there is left
very little milk
-
( as pronoun )
save a little for me
-
-
not much
little damage was done
-
See make of
-
-
very
-
a lot
-
-
a considerable amount
-
to have a low opinion of
adjective
-
of small or less than average size
-
young
a little boy
our little ones
-
endearingly familiar; dear
my husband's little ways
-
contemptible, mean, or disagreeable
your filthy little mind
-
(of a region or district) resembling another country or town in miniature
little Venice
-
a person's secret intention or business
so that's his little game!
-
considerable
adverb
-
(usually preceded by a) in a small amount; to a small extent or degree; not a lot
to laugh a little
-
(used preceding a verb) not at all, or hardly
he little realized his fate
-
not much or often
we go there very little now
-
by small degrees
Usage
What is a basic definition of little? Little describes something that is small in size. Little also describes a short time. And little can refer to a small amount of something. Little has many other senses as an adjective, adverb, and noun. If something is little, it is tiny or physically small. Little is the opposite of words like big, huge, and gigantic. The noun form of this sense is littleness. Real-life examples: Newborn babies are little. A single grain of sand is little. A dime is a little coin compared to quarters and nickels. Used in a sentence: I found a little piece of paper tucked inside the small book. Little also describes a short amount of time. This sense is commonly used as “a little while” or “a little bit.” This sense is a synonym of words like brief or short. Real-life examples: A five-minute rest is a little break. You might go away for a weekend and call it a little vacation. You might stay at a friend’s house for a little while before saying goodbye. And 367 days is a little over a year. Used in a sentence: We stopped at the gas station for a little bit to fill up the car before continuing our trip. Little can also describe a small amount of something. Real-life examples: A chef might add a little salt to a recipe. There might be a little rain on a cloudy day. A new chess player usually has little chance of beating a professional. Used in a sentence: She added to the romantic atmosphere by playing a little music. Little is also used in this sense as a noun. Used in a sentence: If you are looking for paint, there is a little in the supply closet.
Synonym Usage
Little, diminutive, minute, small refer to that which is not large or significant. Little (the opposite of big ) is very general, covering size, extent, number, quantity, amount, duration, or degree: a little boy; a little time. Small (the opposite of large and of great ) can many times be used interchangeably with little, but is especially applied to what is limited or below the average in size: small oranges. Diminutive denotes (usually physical) size that is much less than the average or ordinary; it may suggest delicacy: the baby's diminutive fingers; diminutive in size but autocratic in manner. Minute suggests that which is so tiny it is difficult to discern, or that which implies attentiveness to the smallest details: a minute quantity; a minute exam.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of little
First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English lȳtel ( lȳt “few, small” + -el diminutive suffix), cognate with Dutch luttel, Old High German luzzil, Old Norse lītill
Explanation
Anything small, brief, young, or unimportant can be described as little. If you live in a little cottage, it means your house is very small, and quite possibly adorable. The word little describes something tiny and sweet, like a little kitten or a little doll house rocking chair. Little can also mean some, but not much, like when you only want a little soup — not a big bowl, or when you put little effort into your appearance when you are doing yard work. The expression little by little means very slowly, or by tiny increments, like learning a new language little by little.
Vocabulary lists containing little
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:
Six decades have passed since Jackie Bassett first appeared on TV aged seven, skipping down the road with her little sister.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026
"Switching off access to an AI model in an emergency will do little to protect you," he said.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
“It’s just this classic case where a little more certainty is preferred versus uncertainty going into a Fed meeting.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
To make matters worse, Clear Lake has struggled with dramatic blooms of toxic algae, spurred by stretches of hot summer days with little wind.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
In 1850, die Boston doctors know very little about any kind of cell, even though the cell revolution is getting under way in Germany, thanks to Matthias Schleiden and Theodor Schwann.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
Maybe what that means is that human creativity is changing, and that it's much less dependent on idea generation and much more dependent on idea selection and elaboration.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026
Museums are also open public spaces that have less access control and perpetrators can come in as visitors, says Kumar Sokka, CEO of Acre Security which works with some museums in Europe.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026
Three platinum plaques in less than two years — for “Infinity,” “Evolution” and “Departure” — meant that Journey had no choice but to drop a live record, “Captured,” at the top of 1981.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
If there were any time to turn our noses up in defiance and refuse to engage with anything less than quality, it’s now.
From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2026
By the time she’d calmed down, Janet was gone, and Star realized perhaps her daughter had wanted a little less freedom and a little more guidance.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Iran often hit locations of lesser military significance where nothing significant was located—an indication that Iran didn’t have a clear picture of U.S. bases.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026
Instead, Castro, who has been suspended by ICE, is facing the lesser federal charge of lying to investigators.
From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026
Or it could be treated to a lesser level, to meet the Environmental Protection Agency’s standards for discharge to the ocean.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026
Itauma showed that many of the qualities which looked spectacular against lesser opposition still worked against a genuine world-level heavyweight.
From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026
It was used by patrols or by messengers going swiftly to lesser posts and strongholds north-away, between Cirith Ungol and the narrows of Isenmouthe, the iron jaws of Carach Angren.
From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien
"You wouldn't think there were that many places to hide but when Ramona was littler, I think she'd been in every cupboard in one of those trailers," says Drew-Honey, now 28.
From BBC ● Dec. 25, 2024
No surprise there—as the term accelerates toward a contentious finale, the tensions roiling major cases are bound to spill over into littler ones.
From Slate ● Jun. 17, 2024
Our littler sister city has been careening far ahead of us in grown-up, post-pandemic urban problems.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 4, 2023
But we also have littler animals as well.
From Salon ● Feb. 21, 2022
Next to the fireplace was another table, this one littler, with drawers running down one side and one long drawer running ’crost the top.
From "The Journey of Little Charlie" by Christopher Paul Curtis
There is a good chance that even if Sara did confront Scott, he’ll deny at least some of it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
Aston Martin are 10th in the championship so far this season after producing an uncompetitive car, while engine partner Honda's power-unit is the least powerful on the grid.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
Over just two weeks in April 2026, Anthropic found more than 4,700 different Claude-powered AI characters chatting with at least 25,000 real users, sending about 2.36 million messages in total.
From Barron's ● Sep. 11, 2026
It’s been hot in SoCal, but at least it’s a dry heat.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
It almost seemed as if these humans sensed the Afterlife realms—some unconscious part of them guiding them along the path of least resistance.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
The scarcity of Apple’s littlest Mac comes at a time of high interest from AI power users and a potential product refresh.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
"He always has time to chat with every little one and has the ability to charm even the littlest of children who may be a little shy of a big man in a red suit."
From BBC ● Dec. 22, 2024
Caiazzo was part of a research team that in 2021 reported on one with a petite diameter slightly larger than Earth's moon that boasted the greatest mass and littlest size of any known white dwarf.
From Reuters ● Jul. 21, 2023
Two years ago, Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a big plan for some of California’s littlest children.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 10, 2023
They linked their arms to shield me, even the littlest girl.
From "Endangered" by Eliot Schrefer
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.
