little man
Americannoun
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the common or ordinary person.
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Informal. the small, ordinary investor, as opposed to big investment institutions.
noun
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a man of no importance or significance
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a tradesman or artisan operating on a small scale
Etymology
Origin of little man
First recorded in 1930–35
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.
It seems like the end for the miller’s daughter, until a strange little man appears and offers to help—naturally, for a price.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 2026
She has set an £11,000 fundraising target for her "handsome little man" to potentially take part in clinical trials abroad in the hope of slowing the development of the disease.
From BBC ● Nov. 11, 2025
To expend energy railing against this one petty, petty little man is to inveigh against the symptom, as opposed to the problem.
From Slate ● May 22, 2024
It was a red-eye, and when I landed there was a little man with a chauffeur hat and a long limousine with a phone in it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 25, 2024
"How many miles to Babylon?" said the little man rhetorically.
From "Stardust" by Neil Gaiman
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.
