small-bore
Americanadjective
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of, noting, or relating to a .22-caliber firearm.
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insular or parochial in scope, attitude, etc..
small-bore officials.
adjective
Etymology
Origin of small-bore
First recorded in 1895–1900
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.
Set years before the movies we know and love, the show goes small-bore on spycraft, marital diplomacy and the all-too-real cost of rebellion.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 26, 2025
Critics often derided O’Connor for what seemed to be a small-bore, mincing, and case-by-case approach to constitutional doctrine.
From Slate ● Dec. 1, 2023
Nonetheless, eager to show engagement, the White House has taken a few small-bore steps, like releasing oil from our strategic petroleum reserve and jawboning companies not to raise prices.
From New York Times ● Mar. 15, 2022
Cuban authorities in the past have used small-bore liberalization steps to defuse public anger.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 22, 2021
Any system that constricts teachers—holds them to small-bore metrics, punishes them for forces outside their control, discourages their creativity and spontaneity, chips away at their humanity—is a bad system.
From "Drama High" by Michael Sokolove
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.
