midget

[ mij-it ]

noun

1. Older Use: Disparaging and Offensive. an abnormally small person having normal physical proportions.
2. any animal or thing that is very small for its kind.

adjective

1. very small or of a class below the usual size.
2. being a miniature replica or model.

midget

/ ˈmɪdʒɪt /

noun

1. a dwarf whose skeleton and features are of normal proportions
2. 1. something small of its kind
   2. ( as modifier )

      a midget car

3. an age level of 16 to 17 in amateur sport, esp ice hockey

Sensitive Note

A dwarf is someone with a medical condition that results in stunted growth (58 inches or shorter in height), with a physical form that is disproportionate or not normally developed in some way. The word midget is not a synonym; it is disparaging and offensive and should be avoided. It was formerly used for someone of proportionate form but abnormally small physical stature. The terms dwarf and little person are now preferable in reference to these short-statured people.

Other Words From

• midget·ism noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of midget¹

First recorded in 1850–55; midge + -et

Word History and Origins

Origin of midget¹

C19: from midge + -et

Example Sentences

So he would race on these ice flat tracks and then he raced what’s called midgets, which is really just a car with these big tires and big dirt tracks and oval dirt tracks.

From Ozy

Sefolosha, who is 6 feet, 7 inches tall, called the cop a “midget.”

From ProPublica

The mass-midget mind was concretized with the very idea that “free thought” means “free stuff.”

From The Daily Beast

There, Belfort and his cronies are tossing a “midget” into a target in the center of the office.

From The Daily Beast

He had worked at the Chicago Rose Fair on the midget orchestra.

From The Daily Beast

Where else would you find a midget on stilts peering into the shadowy corners of a storage locker with night vision equipment?

From The Daily Beast

The midget recovered Alfred's knife from the dust and walked over to the trailer that he noted had a wooden coop of slats aboard.

From Project Gutenberg

"Gillis Station," he called out to the midget who had remained very quiet.

From Project Gutenberg

It was no doubt a singular sight to the residents to see a midget with six-footers, but it was just that way.

From Project Gutenberg

Reappearing with the dead body, he bore it in his huge arms to the stoneboat: a midget carrying a giant.

From Project Gutenberg

To the midget stuff I thought I would add a few paragraphs about circus people, the different kinds and what they do.

From Project Gutenberg