pittance
Americannoun
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a small amount or share.
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a small allowance or sum, as of money for living expenses.
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a scanty income or remuneration.
noun
Etymology
Origin of pittance
1175–1225; Middle English pitaunce < Old French pitance, variant of pietance piety, pity, allowance of food (in a monastery). See pity, -ance
Explanation
A pittance is a tiny payment or small reimbursement for work — generally an amount that's inadequate. The restaurant may pay you a pittance, but you can do well if you get a lot of good tips. The word pittance came into English from the Old French word pitance, meaning “allowance of food to a monk or poor person,” which in turn came from the Latin word pietas, meaning “pity.” Although a pittance may have originally meant that you were taking pity on someone with less wealth by giving them money or food, these days when you get a pittance it means that you earn a pitiful wage.
Vocabulary lists containing pittance
Frankenstein
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Night
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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.
These withheld sums are also a pittance in relation to the states’ overall Medicaid spending.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
Elon Musk is paying a pittance to settle a Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit that said he failed to timely disclose his stake in Twitter as he was preparing to buy it in 2022.
From Barron's ● May 5, 2026
It is a pittance compared to full members - England receive close to £33m in addition to lucrative broadcast deals.
From BBC ● Jan. 26, 2026
Spotify has long been criticized by musicians, songwriters and artists’ rights groups, who have accused the company of paying a pittance to most of the working artists whose songs appear on its platform.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2025
Capitan Victor Alicinio Pena was listed in the real estate transactions as having bought the old Gonzalez farm from the government for a pittance.
From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez
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.
