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piffling

American

[pif-ling] / ˈpɪf lɪŋ /

adjective

of little worth; trifling; piddling.

piffling efforts.

piffling British

/ ˈpɪflɪŋ /

adjective

worthless, trivial

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of piffling

First recorded in 1890–95; piffle + -ing ²

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.

Yet it went ignored while Sly Stallone’s piffling King Lear act in the mediocre Creed is hailed like the second coming.

From Slate • Jan. 4, 2016

They want £595 to watch the beach volleyball, though the "canoe sprint" is a piffling £295 – for an event you might not watch if it were taking place in your park boating lake.

From The Guardian • Jun. 29, 2012

British MPs sold their reputations for a piffling return—one MP submitted a claim for a hot drink he had bought in the House of Commons tearoom.

From Scientific American • Dec. 9, 2011

Because markets for land are so ill-developed in Africa and governments so weak, rents are piffling: $2 per hectare per year in Ethiopia; $5 in Liberia.

From Economist • May 5, 2011

The piffling toad steps away from her and says, “Non capisco! Ha!”

From "The Unfinished Angel" by Sharon Creech

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023