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widow's mite

American  

noun

  1. a small contribution given cheerfully by one who can ill afford it. Mark 12:41–44.


widow's mite British  

noun

  1. a small contribution given by a person who has very little

"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

Etymology

Origin of widow's mite

First recorded in 1585–95

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.

One group called themselves the Ladies Mite Society, after the Bible story of the widow’s mite.

From Washington Times • Nov. 6, 2014

Many a widow's mite, many a tot's tithe swells the total.

From Time Magazine Archive

It seemed, under New York State and federal inheritance statutes, kind of easy: he left about $61.5 million to his wife Brooke as a taxless widow's mite.

From Time Magazine Archive

Shall she pinch and scrape on a widow's mite, Or rank with other impoverished lands Labor M.P.

From Time Magazine Archive

What relation does the story of the girl who gives two copper coins to the Sangha bear to the parable of the widow's mite?

From Hinduism and Buddhism, An Historical Sketch, Vol. 3 by Eliot, Charles, Sir