tiny
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of tiny
First recorded in 1590–1600; late Middle English tine “very small” + -y 1; further origin uncertain
Explanation
Tiny means very small. Atoms are tiny. Hawaii is tiny, in comparison to the continental US. If you wear a size five shoe as an adult, you could be said to have tiny feet. Throughout the world there are stories about tiny mythical heroes, such as Tom Thumb, a tiny baby, who grew into a tiny child then a man so tiny he was no larger than an average man's thumb. One of the things that people love about doll houses are seeing all the artifacts we live with day to day replicated in miniature, or tiny, form.
Vocabulary lists containing tiny
It's the Little Things: Synonyms for "Small"
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"Eleven," Vocabulary from the short story
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"Imperfect Me"
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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.
The smallest nation by population in the tournament comes face-to-face with the four-time winners on Sunday when tiny Curacao play Germany in a true World Cup fairytale.
From Barron's • Jun. 14, 2026
The World Series ring of the Texas Rangers features a tiny circle of leather from a game-used baseball.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 12, 2026
The detector's PMTs operate simultaneously to capture tiny flashes of scintillation light produced when neutrinos interact inside the detector.
From Science Daily • Jun. 12, 2026
David was one of five children; a tight-knit, loving unit jammed into a tiny terrace in Bradford.
From BBC • Jun. 12, 2026
What creature had left these tiny prints in the mud?
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
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.
