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:
Also, although there is little official data on this, some experts are worried men using them are not talking about it, either with their GP or publicly.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
The duo led early in the final set and had little trouble delivering a 21-13 victory.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
On the day he signed with the St. Louis Cardinals straight out of high school in 2021, Joshua Báez said he wanted to reach the majors in as little as two years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
U.S. stock-index futures were little changed on Sunday after a quiet week on Wall Street, as investors await hints from the Fed concerning the outlook for interest rates.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 16, 2026
I reply, a little louder than I intended.
From "Split the Sky" by Marie Arnold
But she was less concerned about future risks than she was about losing me now.
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
More than 70 percent of its population of 22 million lives on less than $3 a day, according to the World Bank, despite the country also having significant potential in cobalt, nickel and manganese.
From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026
About 74% of returns that filed a capital gain in 2022 had household incomes of less than $200,000, according to Internal Revenue Service data parsed by Americans for Tax Reform.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
He came to the Dodgers in a trade from the Chicago White Sox in December 1971 with an 84-91 record, a good curveball and a less than intimidating fastball.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
“To be unallowed to even whisper to one another, much less talk or laugh. To lose your position if you go on a date with a boy.”
From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse
"There's a lot of stuff that can be done with older models, or lesser models, or small language models," said technology analyst Jack Gold, founder of J.Gold Associates.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
Meyers, who looks as though he buys his clothes from a place with a name like Fop Republic, is, to a lesser degree, engaged in cosplay also.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 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
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
The quarry was on a hillside, not the calm and pleasant Chamundi Hill, but another, lesser hill, bare and rocky, with here and there a few clumps of prickly pear.
From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya
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
Her accessories are larger for littler hands, and her hair is extra long for easier brushing.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 12, 2023
There were two littler fires burning in Hooperville.
From "Bud, Not Buddy" by Christopher Paul Curtis
"We know it is at least 200 years old, probably 300 years, as it would need to have been of a significant size to be mapped at that time."
From BBC ● Aug. 17, 2026
Berton, the national disaster agency spokesman, said at least 914 houses on the island were severely damaged and hundreds of others to a lesser degree.
From Barron's ● Aug. 17, 2026
At least six people have died in Indiana as a series of relentless storms led to historic flooding in the Midwestern state.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 16, 2026
At least two of the suspects in the sheriff’s photos can be seen holding up their phones.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
By Phineas's time, doctors know what a brain looks like, at least from the outside.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
The littlest Mac has gone viral as a cost-effective way for AI power users to run local large language models that can eat up dozens of gigabytes of RAM, aka memory.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
"It's the littlest things that can trigger you. Even cutting a piece of fruit with a knife or seeing blood can be triggering; just normal, mundane things," she said.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2025
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
And that was how I learned that the baby Syaudi was really my mother’s son, my littlest brother.
From "The Joy Luck Club" by Amy Tan
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.
