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• petit
  petit

  adjective

  small; petty; minor.
• Petit
  Petit

  noun

  Roland (rɔlɑ̃). 1924–2011, French ballet dancer and choreographer. His innovative ballets include Carmen (1949), Kraanerg (1969), and The Blue Angel (1985); he also choreographed films, such as Anything Goes (1956) and Black Tights (1960)

petit

American  

[pet-ee, puh-tee] / ˈpɛt i, pəˈti /

adjective

Law.

1. small; petty; minor.

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Petit ¹ British  

/ pəti /

noun

1. Roland (rɔlɑ̃). 1924–2011, French ballet dancer and choreographer. His innovative ballets include Carmen (1949), Kraanerg (1969), and The Blue Angel (1985); he also choreographed films, such as Anything Goes (1956) and Black Tights (1960)

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petit ² British  

/ ˈpɛtɪ /

adjective

1. (prenominal) law of little or lesser importance; small

   petit jury

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Etymology

Origin of petit

1325–75; Middle English < Middle French; see petty

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

petit Petit

Pungent dried scallops are in a sweet-and-savory fudge petit four, not a classic soup.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 18, 2025

A steal at $28 for three courses, diners saddle up to the counter, reminiscent of a chef’s table, for a French and Japanese-inspired amuse bouche with a main dessert, followed by petit fours.

From Salon ● Jul. 13, 2025

Living in Paris for a year certainly had its share of stresses, mostly because my French language skills never really advanced beyond me saying, Je parle français un petit peu, before switching to English.

From Slate ● Jan. 6, 2025

Drago was found guilty of one misdemeanor count of petit larceny for stealing a bouquet and other items from the memorial that Rodriguez had set up to honor her teenage daughter, Kayla Cuevas.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 24, 2023

Guenever was doing some petit point in the gloomy room, which she hated doing.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

The statement has been shared on social media by the likes of England defender Lucy Bronze, France's 1998 World Cup winner Emmanuel Petit, and former England goalkeeper David James.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026

“Le Petit Chef and Friends” is currently running at Deme at downtown’s Hotel Figueroa, an event in which a fully animated film is projected on our plates and tables.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026

“Watching them get acquired by Shein isn’t just a business story, it feels like a generational story, because we were promised that millennial retail could be different,” Petit said of the news about Everlane.

From MarketWatch ● May 19, 2026

Daniel Rodrigues, owner of Mon Petit Frere cafe in tourist hub Goa, said "the government really needs to step in".

From Barron's ● Mar. 12, 2026

He became my favourite teacher at Petit Seminaire and the reason I studied zoology at the University of Toronto.

From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel