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[ adjective ] limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent
Synonyms Examples "a little dining room" "a little house" "a small car" "a little (or small) group" a small voice" Used in print (Norman Kent, "The Watercolor Art of Roy M. Mason"...)Finally come those little flicks of a rigger brush and the job is done . (James Boylan, "Mutinity"...)On April 17 , 1610 , the sturdy little three masted bark , Discovery , weighed_anchor in St._Katherine's_Pool , London , and floated down the Thames toward_the_sea . In 1602 , George_Waymouth , in the same little Discovery that Hudson now commanded , had sailed 300 miles up the strait before his frightened men turned the ship back . As Hudson resumed his desperate criss-crossing of the little bay , every incident lessened the crew 's respect for him . (John Harnsberger and Robert P. Wilkins,...)By October the little colony about Fort_Douglas ( present-day Winnipeg ) numbered 100 . |
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[ adjective ] (quantifier used with mass nouns) small in quantity or degree; not much or almost none or (with "a) at least some
Examples "little rain fell in May" "gave it little thought" "little hope remained" "little time is left" "a little time is left" Used in print (The Dallas Morning News,...)But questions with which committee_members taunted bankers appearing as witnesses left little doubt that they will recommend passage of_it . (The Dallas Morning News,...)`` They can be going_along , doing little damage , then bang , bang - they can hit a_couple_of passes on you for touchdowns and put you in_trouble '' . (Rocky Mountains News, [Denver, Colorado],...)Kenny_Lane of Muskegon , Mich. , world 's seventh ranked lightweight , had little trouble in taking a unanimous decision over Rip_Randall of Tyler , Tex. , here Monday night . (Edward E. Kelly, S.J., "Christian Unity in England"...)Representing as_it_did the efforts of only unauthorized individuals of the Roman and Anglican_Churches , and urging a communion of prayer unacceptable to Rome , this association produced little fruit , and , in_fact , was condemned by the Holy_Office in 1864 . (Organic Gardening and Farming,...)For my seedbed I use good garden soil with a little sand added to encourage rooting . |
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[ adverb ] not much
Examples "he talked little about his family" Used in print (Sports Age, 24:9...)The Outdoor_Education_Project took cognizance of the fact , so often overlooked , that athletic activities stressed in most school programs have little or no relationship to the physical and mental needs and interests of later life . (Harold Rosenberg, "The Trial and Eichmann"...)It is already difficult to recall how little we knew before the Trial of what had been done to the Jews of Europe . (John Harnsberger and Robert P. Wilkins,...)The mercenaries were little interested in farming and added nothing to the output of the farm plots on which all work was still done with hoes as late as 1818 . (Bell I. Wiley, "Home Letters of Johnny Reb and Billy...)Private Jenkins_Lloyd_Jones of the Wisconsin_Light_Artillery wrote in his diary : `` I strolled among the Alabamans on the right , found some of the greenest specimens of humanity I think in the universe their ignorance being little less_than the slave they despise with as imperfect a dialect ' They Recooned as how you ' uns all would be a heap wus to we ' uns all '' ' . (Peter J. White, "Report on Laos"...)`` And it 's all the more tragic because it 's so little deserved '' , said Mr._J._J._A._Frans , a Belgian official of the United_Nations Educational_,_Scientific_,_and_Cultural_Organization . |
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[ noun ] a small amount or duration
Examples "he accepted the little they gave him" Used in print (The Christian Science Monitor,...)But except for a vague adherence to the basic storyline - i.e. , that Ruth remained with Naomi and finally wound_up with Boaz - the film version has little to do with the Bible . (Bonnie Prudden, "The Dancer and the Gymnast"...)Very little in today 's living provides the strength we need , and nothing provides the flexibility . (Edward Austin Walton, "On Education for the Interior...)Working in a vacuum of minimal information can result only in show_pieces that look good in exhibitions and catalogs and may please the public_relations department but have little to do with the essence of interior_design . (Jacob Robbins et al., "The thyroid-stimulating...)Little is known of the synthetic mechanisms for formation of thyroglobulin . (Gerald Green, The Heartless Light....)The three had little to say to each other . Related terms |
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[ adjective ] of little importance or influence or power; of minor status
Synonyms Examples "a minor, insignificant bureaucrat" "peanut politicians" Used in print (Howard Nemerov, "Themes and Methods: The Early...)La^utner , for his part , `` belonged_to the present-day race of small artists , who do not demand the utmost of themselves '' , and the bitter description of the type includes such epithets as `` wretched little poseurs '' , the devastating indictment `` they do not know how to be wretched decently and in_order '' , and the somewhat extreme prophecy , so_far not fulfilled : `` They will be destroyed '' . (S. J. Perelman, The Rising Gorge. New York:...)Well , the odious little toad went_along chivying animals and humans who could n't retaliate , and in_due_course , as was inevitable , overreached himself . Related terms |
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[ adjective ] not fully grown
Synonyms Examples "what a big little boy you are" "small children" Used in print (The Times-Picayune, [New Orleans]...)He wants to be called sweet , good , considerate and mother 's little helper . (Organic Gardening and Farming,...)I started the seed in a flat in June and set_out the little pansies in a cold_frame . (Frank Getlein and Harold C. Gardiner, S.J., Movies,...)As the robbers leave the looted train , the film suddenly cuts_back to the station , where the telegrapher 's little daughter arrives with her father 's dinner_pail only to find him bound on the floor . (David Stacton, The Judges of the Secret Court....)In the audience a man named Ferguson lost his head and tried to rescue a little girl from the mob , on the same principle which had led Miss_Harris to demand water . (Louis Zara, Dark Rider....)On the Christophers ' lawn , little girls in white pinafores were playing grownups at a tea_party . Related terms |
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[ adjective ] (informal terms) small and of little importance
Examples "a fiddling sum of money" "a footling gesture" "our worries are lilliputian" "a little (or small) matter" "Mickey Mouse regulations" "niggling details" petty enterprises" "piffling efforts" Used in print (Howard Nemerov, "Themes and Methods: The Early...)But it is characteristic of him , we are told , `` his little artifice '' , to be able to introduce `` into a fairly vulgar and humorous piece of hackwork a sudden phrase of genuine creative art '' . (Guy Bolton, The Olympians....)So do n't see yourself as a heroine or fancy this little adventure is an event of major importance '' . Related terms |
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[ adjective ] (informal terms) small and of little importance
Examples "a fiddling sum of money" "a footling gesture" "our worries are lilliputian compared with those of countries that are at war" "a little (or small) matter" "Mickey Mouse regulations" "a dispute over ni Related terms |
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[ adjective ] contemptibly narrow in outlook
Synonyms Examples "petty little comments" "disgusted with their small-minded pettiness" Used in print (Ralph J. Salisbury, "On the Old Santa Fe Trail...)The way his red rubber lips were stretched across his pearly little teeth I though he was only having a little joke , but , no , he wanted me to bend down from the roar of wind so he could roar something into my ear . Related terms |
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[ noun ] Last name, frequency rank in the U.S. is 226
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[ adjective ] small in a way that arouses feelings (of tenderness or its opposite depending on context)
Examples "a nice little job" "bless your little heart" "my dear little mother" "a sweet little deal" "I'm tired of your petty little schemes" "filthy little tricks" Related terms |
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