small game

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noun

wild animals and birds hunted for sport, as rabbits or doves, that are smaller than animals, as deer and bears, classified as big game.

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Origin of small game

First recorded in 1810–20

Words nearby small game

smallest cardiac vein, smallest scalene muscle, small forward, small frog in a big pond, small fry, small game, small goods, small holding, small hours, small increment sensitivity index, small intestine

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use small game in a sentence

Boys typically fish and hunt for small game such as rodents, birds, or lizards, while girls gather fruit and firewood, dig for roots, and carry water from nearby streams to camp.
What Industrial Societies Get Wrong About Childhood - Issue 108: Change|Karen L. Kramer|December 1, 2021|Nautilus
Neanderthals were top hunters who took on prey ranging from true mega-fauna like mammoths and woolly rhinos to small game.
Much of What We Thought About Neanderthals Was Wrong. Here’s Why That Matters|Rebecca Wragg Sykes|October 27, 2020|Time
Something like fluoride, which is too small for normal filters, yanks away that feeling of agency.
Anti-Fluoriders Are The OG Anti-Vaxxers|Michael Schulson|July 27, 2016|DAILY BEAST
And yes, someone has already called Spencer a “Small Fry,” har har.
Freaking Out About Age Gaps in Gay Relationships Is Homophobic|Samantha Allen|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST

This is going to be the Game of Thrones of U.S. Senate races.
The Golden State Preps for the ‘Red Wedding’ of Senate Races|David Freedlander|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
It was seen by a small delegation of star-struck prelates and dignitaries who later described the film as “moving.”
Pope Francis Has the Pleasure of Meeting Angelina Jolie for a Few Seconds|Barbie Latza Nadeau|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Dora is seen getting dressed as a mermaid by a cursor being manned by some omniscient game player.
Sleazy Billionaire’s Double Life Featured Beach Parties With Stephen Hawking|M.L. Nestel|January 8, 2015|DAILY BEAST
And to tell the truth, she couldn't help wishing he could see, so he could make the game livelier.
The Tale of Grandfather Mole|Arthur Scott Bailey
The Duchess had also a tent for their sick men; so that we had a small town of our own here, and every body employed.
The Life and Most Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York, Mariner (1801)|Daniel Defoe
Suddenly, however, he became aware of a small black spot far ahead in the very middle of the unencumbered track.
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol|William J. Locke
He is perplexed and hindered by the lack of soldiers, but is doing his best with his small forces.
The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898, Volume XX, 1621-1624|Various
A small book, bound in full purple calf, lay half hidden in a nest of fine tissue paper on the dressing-table.
Hilda Lessways|Arnold Bennett

British Dictionary definitions for small game

small game

noun

British small animals that are hunted for sport

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