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:
Brescia O’Rear said she is holding on to a little more cash these days, but the fears of a potential AI overbuild don’t keep her up at night.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026
Their pitching staff is deep and talented, they play exceptional defense, and they have an offensive attack that does all the little things well.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2026
But Dynamo Dresden, bearing a complex history and situated in the underrepresented east, feel a little different.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
There was little disagreement over the tremendous business potential in a country sitting on some of the world’s largest oil and gas reserves.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
No, for the rest of his life, that little boy knew he’d never receive such a present.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
I had wondered if the CrossWave’s advanced design would impart less wake energy to the water than other PWCs?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026
But because the leverage is long term and the product is packaged in an ETF, it might seem less risky to potential buyers.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 10, 2026
Rain rates are probably going to be a quarter of an inch per hour or less, making debris flow and landslides unlikely.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2026
Ireland recommended hiking some of the levies but stuck more or less to the commission's original lines, saying the measures it was putting forward would raise 55 billion euros a year.
From Barron's ● Oct. 10, 2026
It’s not helping that I’m exhausted, that in the span of less than seventy-two hours I’ve gone from sleeping all day to sleeping barely at all.
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
They are also calling on the state governor, Bill Lee, to downgrade Pike's punishment to the lesser sentence of life in prison without parole.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
“It doesn’t feel good in the moment, but this was the lesser of all evils,” Appel said.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 6, 2026
On the other hand, net commodity exporters such as Malaysia, and to a lesser extent, Indonesia, could see some offset on its currencies against the oil shock.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
But he was outperformed citywide, leaving Palisades voters with a choice some liken to picking the lesser of two evils: Mayor Karen Bass or Councilmember Nithya Raman.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
“You would’ve never formed your bond. And the world would have been lesser for it.”
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
"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
When it was time to make decisions, Greenlee consulted her littler sister, a tall and bright-eyed 14-year-old, who’s in her high school’s baking club.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 31, 2022
She whispered, “Keep thinking. You can hear our brains rattling inside us, like the littler Russian dolls.”
From "Feed" by M.T. Anderson
The military has held at least five press calls in recent weeks to talk about its modernization efforts.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2026
Meanwhile, the most sensitive sectors such as agriculture, and funds for regional development were the least impacted with reductions of only three percent.
From Barron's ● Oct. 10, 2026
The cleverest among the group, on paper at least, Fry found the heat being turned up on her as the day rolled on.
From BBC ● Oct. 9, 2026
Streets on the Balboa Peninsula in Newport Beach were flooded with at least a foot of water during high tides, with police advising residents and motorists to avoid the area.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
For he had become a Christian, some forty years earlier, without ceasing in the least to be a loyal Jew.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
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
Halle Bailey’s littlest “Little Mermaid” fans are ready to ask her some questions and get some answers.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 23, 2023
It’s fun seeing the littlest kids run and play.
From "Towers Falling" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
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.
