petty
adjective
of little or no importance or consequence.
petty
1 American
[pet-ee]
/ ˈpɛt i /
adjective
pettier,
comparative
pettiest
superlative
-
of little or no importance or consequence.
petty grievances.
- Synonyms:
- slight, inconsiderable, negligible, nugatory
- Antonyms:
- important
-
of lesser or secondary importance, merit, etc.; minor.
petty considerations.
-
having or showing narrow ideas, interests, etc..
petty minds.
- Synonyms:
- small
-
mean or ungenerous in small or trifling things.
a petty person.
- Antonyms:
- generous
-
showing or caused by meanness of spirit.
a petty revenge.
-
of secondary rank, especially in relation to others of the same class or kind.
petty states; a petty tyrant.
Petty
2
American
[pet-ee]
/ ˈpɛt i /
noun
-
Richard, born 1937, U.S. racing-car driver.
-
William, 2nd Earl of Shelburne, 1st Marquis of Lansdowne. William Petty Fitzmaurice Lansdowne.
petty
British
/ ˈpɛtɪ /
adjective
-
trivial; trifling; inessential
petty details
-
of a narrow-minded, mean, or small-natured disposition or character
petty spite
-
minor or subordinate in rank
petty officialdom
-
law of lesser importance
Synonym Usage
Petty, paltry, trifling, trivial apply to something that is so insignificant as to be almost unworthy of notice. Petty implies contemptible insignificance and littleness, inferiority and small worth: petty quarrels. Paltry is applied to something that is beneath one's notice, even despicable: a paltry amount. Something that is trifling is so unimportant and inconsiderable as to be practically negligible: a trifling error. Something that is trivial is slight, insignificant, and even in incongruous contrast to something that is significant or important: a trivial remark; a trivial task.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Adjectives
Etymology
Origin of petty
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English peti(t) “small, minor,” from Old French petit, from unattested Gallo-Romance pittīttus, of expressive origin
Explanation
Petty used to mean just "petite" or "small," but now it's used for things that are trivial and shouldn’t matter much. If you host world leaders and spend more time picking napkins than memorizing names, you're focused on petty things. A few neutral meanings of petty are still in use today — such as "petty cash," which refers to a small amount of cash on hand — but most uses of petty since the 16th century are negative, as in "narrow-minded," "trivial," and "of little importance." A "petty argument" is a popular expression, because many people get all worked up over something that isn't very important — a petty concern — that seems much smaller after the heat of the moment.
Vocabulary lists containing petty
"Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare, Act I
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I Am Malala
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Even More Negative Words to Describe a Person
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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:
Or was his quest for power rooted in sheer petty selfishness?
From Slate ● Jul. 13, 2026
The general reaction to the policy has been overwhelmingly positive, Xue said, aside from some remarks on social media that charging for a smashed teacup was a petty move.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
“These are barely grievances. They are petty complaints, and they have nothing to do with a Declaration of Independence from England and tyranny!”
From Salon ● Jun. 26, 2026
"That's one of my favourite things," she says "I can write a song about being petty or jealous or super insecure, and I get it off my chest in a way that seems productive."
From BBC ● Jun. 10, 2026
With the petty cash Mr. Haber had given me, I’d found one at a Chinatown tailor shop: royal blue with a faint pattern of flowers.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
This Fourth of July, I will be thinking about the iconic photograph of Chief Petty Officer Graham Jackson watching President Franklin Roosevelt’s funeral procession, tears streaming down his face as he plays the accordion.
From Salon ● Jun. 30, 2026
“Formerly home to music icon Tom Petty and superstar Selena Gomez, this spectacular estate offers distinctive architecture crafted with exceptional attention to detail and the finest quality,” the listing adds.
From MarketWatch ● May 18, 2026
Petty crimes dropped, as did homicides, according to official data, though some disputed the data as possibly massaged to benefit authorities.
From Barron's ● May 10, 2026
The 1980s hits of Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty and others still reverberate in bowling alleys, grocery stores and pubs across America.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 6, 2026
In 1652, with the political situation seemingly stabilized, Boyle visited Ireland, accompanied by the physician William Petty, to look into his interests in the family estates there.
From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin
“If I find him annoying, that means that maybe I’m going to come in a little bit pettier than usual,” says Martin.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2024
Listen, I’m sure there will be a lot of sturm und drang about what the whistleblower disclosures mean for Elon Musk’s Twitter deal, but I want to focus on something dumber and pettier: Jack Dorsey.
From The Verge ● Aug. 23, 2022
But because Doncic is an NBA all-star, his true intent probably was pettier — an insinuation that the refs were on the Suns’ payroll.
From Washington Post ● May 10, 2022
What recent appraisals haven’t settled, though, is a pettier tiff among De Palma’s fans, about the “right” way to appreciate De Palma.
From New York Times ● Sep. 24, 2020
It is in order that we may be on sure ground that I have rejected many passages on both sides, and a larger number of cases of pettier testimony on the Traditional side.
From The Traditional Text of the Holy Gospels by Burgon, John William
It’s elementary: Characters can do outlandish things, commit outrageous crimes, be inspired by the pettiest of motives.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 30, 2025
Furst insisted no topic is off the table, from the pettiest accusation to the most serious charge.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 21, 2023
It was a quick, neat and efficient resolution to the pettiest of problems, one which probably would have gone unheeded before the arrival of the militants.
From New York Times ● Jul. 1, 2018
The blog post is a tidy package of the pettiest things many of us might have thought and felt in the throes of our first cosmos-shifting romances, but were probably too self-aware to say aloud.
From Slate ● Apr. 9, 2018
This to you, down near it, is a mass of tortuous intrigue; vile in its pettiest detail.
From The Inheritors by Conrad, Joseph
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.
