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• small time
  small time

  noun

  a circuit of minor theaters giving three or more shows daily.
• small-time
  small-time

  adjective

  of modest or insignificant size, importance, or influence.

small time

¹ American  

noun

1. a circuit of minor theaters giving three or more shows daily.

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small-time ² American  

[smawl-tahym] / ˈsmɔlˈtaɪm /

adjective

1. of modest or insignificant size, importance, or influence.

   a small-time politician.

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small-time British  

adjective

1. informal insignificant; minor

   a small-time criminal

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small time Idioms  

1. A modest or minor level of achievement, as in Her success took her out of the small time to prime-time television. This expression was originally used in vaudeville for second-rate theaters and productions. [Early 1900s] Also see big time, def. 2.

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Other Word Forms

• small-timer
  noun

Etymology

Origin of small time¹

An Americanism dating back to 1920–25

Origin of small-time²

First recorded in 1910–15

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

small time small-time

The challenge is tied to the interval between computational steps: to capture rapid events such as supernova evolution, the simulation must advance in very small time increments.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 16, 2025

But for this story, we had to be very strict because it’s very small time.

From Salon ● Jun. 29, 2025

"Just like slow-mo cameras reveal details about movement, breaking our data into small time pieces allows us to see how the GRB changes and learn more."

From BBC ● Mar. 28, 2023

“As time passed, we realized that when we had that small time to rest, you get a lot of positivity from taking that risk,” Jongyeon said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 6, 2023

But it isn’t silly, this preoccupation with small time units.

From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck

It was small-time stuff until after the Civil War, when the railroads reached south and the fruit sold north.

From Slate ● Apr. 20, 2026

With a love triangle between two living parties and a dead guy, custody disagreements and a few other small-time secrets, Hoover has essentially perfected the recipe for the modern melodrama.

From Salon ● Mar. 19, 2026

Here, a small-time gambler keeps hoping for one big score that never materializes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 23, 2026

Currency trading by small-time investors in Japan is more popular than it is in the U.S., experts said.

From MarketWatch ● Dec. 5, 2025

On the other hand—well, would Kansas send four Special Agents a thousand miles to pick up a small-time pair of parole violators?

From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote

Related Words

• petty