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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

"Miss Mone is not a successful entrepreneur, she is a small time businesswoman with a PR exposure far in excess of any actual success," he wrote.

From BBC ● May 25, 2025

“It’s so much in such a small time period.”

From Seattle Times ● Sep. 16, 2023

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

From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck

By making a relatively small-time conspiracy into a grand cinematic affair, De Palma illustrates just how easily a single evil idea can spiral into catastrophe in seconds.

From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026

It’s one thing for Mamdani supporters to imbibe “eat the rich” rhetoric, it’s another to lambaste small-time shopkeepers as greedy exploiters when they are the backbone of neighborhood food provision and cultural cohesion.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 2026

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

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

"A small-time operator, I'm sure, Mr. McSouthers," the judge replied coldly.

From "The Westing Game" by Ellen Raskin

Related Words

• petty