little man

American  

noun

(sometimes initial capital letters)

1. the common or ordinary person.

2. Informal. the small, ordinary investor, as opposed to big investment institutions.

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little man British  

noun

1. a man of no importance or significance

2. a tradesman or artisan operating on a small scale

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Etymology

Origin of little man

First recorded in 1930–35

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

little man

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

He took things a step further in 2018, calling the Portuguese "a little man" and "fake".

From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2024

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

“Oh no,” said the little man, “I’m the Whether Man, not the Weather Man, for after all it’s more important to know whether there will be weather than what the weather will be.”

From "The Phantom Tollbooth" by Norton Juster

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