little
Americanadjective
-
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.
-
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:
Calum: Vrancken's been dealt a bad hand with little time for preparation and a squad and fanbase clearly mentally shattered off the end of last season.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
“It is a little hard to have a very old‑school approach to value investing. You have to adapt it to the current environment, and that means you have to marry quality with value.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
Ford got a little help from what it’s long known for doing best.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
To understand how a court talks itself into that, you have to appreciate how little law there is to stop it.
From Slate ● Jul. 28, 2026
Then he decided to have a little fun, and agreed.
From "Adventures of Don Quixote" by Argentina Palacios
He arrived in Washington with significantly less clout and influence than he had on past visits, officials said, and came highly attuned to what the president would want to discuss—or what would set him off.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
At the same time, CDS spreads have been widening, suggesting credit investors are becoming less comfortable with that shift.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 28, 2026
It has felt impossible for fans and pundits to defend the fact the club had only one new face through the door less than a week before their Premiership title defence begins.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
Traversing the same landscape does not make it less beautiful.
From Salon ● Jul. 28, 2026
The Spanish-American War lasted less than three months, with Spain losing several land and naval battles.
From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly
A wary Tinseltown reluctantly lined up behind Netflix as the lesser of two evils, only to watch Paramount keep raising its bid until the streamer walked away in February.
From Barron's ● Jul. 20, 2026
In a statement, her agent Phil Belfield said: "We will never see her like again and the world is lesser for the lack of her."
From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026
“Hamilton” looms large as an influence in this show spun from a lesser known chapter of American history — the story of the Underground Railroad that led south to Mexico.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
Laura Parker, a lawyer for the center, said it can be hard for people to understand why a tiny lizard, or rare mussel species, or the lesser prairie chicken are worth preserving.
From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2026
Features of American wild plants also contributed to the lesser competitiveness of Native American food production.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Though Disneyland Park’s littler and much younger sibling, the park has grown into a respectable offering, one that ranks among my favorite Disney parks in North America.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 24, 2026
"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
Birch said he and his colleagues solved a "geometry problem" regarding how long it would take for the littler rivers to fill the deltas that the Perseverance and Curiosity rovers explored on Mars.
From Salon ● Jul. 10, 2023
Laura was bathed first, because she was littler than Mary.
From "Little House in the Big Woods" by Laura Ingalls Wilder
"It hits those who can afford it least the most," she said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
The tax went into effect July 1, targeting second homes worth $5 million or more, and is estimated to raise at least $500 million a year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026
Those studios that submitted at least 14 titles were “offered better display treatment on the portal.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
"That has at least been a part of the calculus of why Mexican cartels have escalated their operations in Africa. That to say though, it is only part of the story," said Griego.
From BBC ● Jul. 28, 2026
“Not to mention that I need you here to help with the business like you promised. At least until I can hire more people. You understand that, don’t you?”
From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam
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
They separate the haves from the have-nots with astonishing pay imbalances we wouldn’t permit even in the littlest leagues.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 24, 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
That’s so the littlest kids in school can climb onto them.
From "Fourth Grade Rats" by Jerry Spinelli
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.
