Adjacent Words

Little definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

LIT'TLE, a.
1. Small in size or extent; not great or large; as a little body; a little animal; a little piece of ground; a little table; a little book; a little hill; a little distance; a little child.
2. Short in duration; as a little time or season; a little sleep.
3. Small in quantity or amount; as a little hay or grass; a little food; a little sum; a little light; a little air or water.
4. Of small dignity, power or importance.
When thou wast little in thy own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes? 2 Samuel 15.
5. Of small force or effect; slight; inconsiderable; as little attention or exertions; little effort; little care or diligence, little weight.
LIT'TLE, n.
1. A small quantity or amount. He demanded much and obtained little. He had little of his father's liberality.
2. A small space.
Much was in little writ -
3. Any thing small, slight or of inconsiderable importance.
I view with anger and disdain.
How little gives thee joy and pain.
4. Not much.
These they are fitted for, and little else.
LIT'TLE, adv.
1. In a small degree; slightly; as, he is little changed. It is a little discolored.
2. Not much; in a small quantity or space of time. He sleeps little.
3. In some degree; slightly; sometimes preceded by a. The liquor is a little sour or astringent.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent; "a little dining room"; "a little house"; "a small car"; "a little (or small) group" [syn: small, little] [ant: big, large]
2: (quantifier used with mass nouns) small in quantity or degree; not much or almost none or (with `a') at least some; "little rain fell in May"; "gave it little thought"; "little time is left"; "we still have little money"; "a little hope remained"; "there's slight chance that it will work"; "there's a slight chance it will work" [syn: little, slight] [ant: much]
3: (of children and animals) young, immature; "what a big little boy you are"; "small children" [syn: little, small]
4: (informal) small and of little importance; "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"; "a dispute over niggling details"; "limited to petty enterprises"; "piffling efforts"; "giving a police officer a free meal may be against the law, but it seems to be a picayune infraction" [syn: fiddling, footling, lilliputian, little, niggling, piddling, piffling, petty, picayune, trivial]
5: (of a voice) faint; "a little voice"; "a still small voice" [syn: little, small]
6: low in stature; not tall; "he was short and stocky"; "short in stature"; "a short smokestack"; "a little man" [syn: short, little] [ant: tall]
7: lowercase; "little a"; "small a"; "e.e.cummings's poetry is written all in minuscule letters" [syn: little, minuscule, small]
8: small in a way that arouses feelings (of tenderness or its opposite depending on the context); "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"; "what a nasty little situation" n
1: a small amount or duration; "he accepted the little they gave him" adv
1: not much; "he talked little about his family"

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective (littler or less or lesser; littlest or least) Etymology: Middle English littel, from Old English ly?tel; akin to Old High German luzzil little Date: before 12th century 1. not big: as a. small in size or extent ; tiny <has little feet> b. young <was too little to remember> c. of a plant or animal small in comparison with related forms — used in vernacular names d. having few members or inhabitants <a little group> <little towns> e. small in condition, distinction, or scope <big business trampling on the little fellow> f. narrow, mean <the pettiness of little minds> g. pleasingly small <a cute little thing> h. — used as an intensive <why, you little devil!> 2. not much: as a. existing only in a small amount or to a slight degree <has little money> b. short in duration ; brief c. existing to an appreciable though not extensive degree or amount — used with a <had a little money in the bank> 3. small in importance or interest ; trivial Synonyms: see small • littleness noun II. adverb (less; least) Date: before 12th century 1. a. in only a small quantity or degree ; slightly <facts that were little known at the time> b. not at all <cared little for their neighbors> 2. rarely, infrequently III. noun Date: before 12th century 1. a small amount, quantity, or degree; also practically nothing <little has changed> 2. a. a short time b. a short distance

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj., n., & adv. --adj. (littler, littlest; less or lesser; least) 1 small in size, amount, degree, etc.; not great or big: often used to convey affectionate or emotional overtones, or condescension, not implied by small (a friendly little chap; a silly little fool; a nice little car). 2 a short in stature (a little man). b of short distance or duration (will go a little way with you; wait a little while). 3 (prec. by a) a certain though small amount of (give me a little butter). 4 trivial; relatively unimportant (exaggerates every little difficulty). 5 not much; inconsiderable (gained little advantage from it). 6 operating on a small scale (the little shopkeeper). 7 as a distinctive epithet: a of a smaller or the smallest size etc. (little finger). b that is the smaller or smallest of the name (little auk; little grebe). 8 young or younger (a little boy; my little sister). 9 as of a child, evoking tenderness, condescension, amusement, etc. (we know their little ways). 10 mean, paltry, contemptible (you little sneak). --n. 1 not much; only a small amount (got very little out of it; did what little I could). 2 (usu. prec. by a) a a certain but no great amount (knows a little of everything; every little helps). b a short time or distance (after a little). --adv. (less, least) 1 to a small extent only (little-known authors; is little more than speculation). 2 not at all; hardly (they little thought). 3 (prec. by a) somewhat (is a little deaf). Phrases and idioms: in little on a small scale. the Little Bear see BEAR(2). little by little by degrees; gradually. little end the smaller end of a connecting-rod, attached to the piston. little finger the smallest finger, at the outer end of the hand. little man esp. joc. (as a form of address) a boy. little ones young children or animals. little or nothing hardly anything. the little people fairies. Little Russian hist. n. a Ukrainian. --adj. Ukrainian. little slam Bridge the winning of 12 tricks. the little woman colloq. often derog. one's wife. no little considerable, a good deal of (took no little trouble over it). not a little n. much; a great deal. --adv. extremely (not a little concerned). Derivatives: littleness n. Etymology: OE lytel f. Gmc

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Little Lit"tle, n. 1. That which is little; a small quantity, amount, space, or the like. Much was in little writ. --Dryden. There are many expressions, which carrying with them no clear ideas, are like to remove but little of my ignorance. --Locke. 2. A small degree or scale; miniature. `` His picture in little.'' --Shak. A little, to or in a small degree; to a limited extent; somewhat; for a short time. `` Stay a little.'' --Shak. The painter flattered her a little. --Shak. By little and little, or Little by little, by slow degrees; piecemeal; gradually.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Little Lit"tle, a. [The regular comparative of this word is wanting, its place being supplied by less, or, rarely, lesser. See Lesser. For the superlative least is used, the regular form, littlest, occurring very rarely, except in some of the English provinces, and occasionally in colloquial language. `` Where love is great, the littlest doubts are fear.'' --Shak.] [OE. litel, lutel, AS. l?tel, l[=i]tel, l?t; akin to OS. littil, D. luttel, LG. l["u]tt, OHG. luzzil, MHG. l["u]tzel; and perh. to AS. lytig deceitful, lot deceit, Goth. liuts deceitful, lut?n to deceive; cf. also Icel. l[=i]till little, Sw. liten, Dan. liden, lille, Goth. leitils, which appear to have a different root vowel.] 1. Small in size or extent; not big; diminutive; -- opposed to big or large; as, a little body; a little animal; a little piece of ground; a little hill; a little distance; a little child.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Little Lit"tle, adv. In a small quantity or degree; not much; slightly; somewhat; -- often with a preceding it. `` The poor sleep little.'' --Otway.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Little Lit"tle, a. Little Englander, an Englishman opposed to territorial expansion of the British Empire. See Antiimperialism, above. Hence: Little Englandism. Little-neck clam, or Little neck (Zo["o]l.), the quahog, or round clam. Little peach, a disease of peaches in which the fruit is much dwarfed, and the leaves grow small and thin. The cause is not known. Little Rhod"y, Rhode Island; -- a nickname alluding to its small size. It is the smallest State of the United States. Little Sisters of the Poor (R. C. Ch.), an order of women who care for old men and women and infirm poor, for whom special houses are built. It was established at St. Servan, Britany, France, in 1840, by the Abb['e] Le Pailleur. Little slam (Bridge Whist), the winning of 12 out of the 13 tricks. It counts 20 points on the honor score. Living picture Liv"ing pic"ture A tableau in which persons take part; also, specif., such a tableau as imitating a work of art.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

I. DETERMINER, QUANTIFIER, AND ADVERB USES Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. 1. You use little to indicate that there is only a very small amount of something. You can use 'so', 'too', and 'very' in front of little. I had little money and little free time... I find that I need very little sleep these days... There is little doubt that a diet high in fibre is more satisfying... So far little progress has been made towards ending the fighting... DET: DET n-uncount • Little is also a quantifier. Little of the existing housing is of good enough quality... ? much QUANT: QUANT of def-n • Little is also a pronoun. In general, employers do little to help the single working mother... Little is known about his childhood. PRON 2. Little means not very often or to only a small extent. On their way back to Marseille they spoke very little... ADV: ADV with v 3. A little of something is a small amount of it, but not very much. You can also say a very little. Mrs Caan needs a little help getting her groceries home... A little food would do us all some good... I shall be only a very little time. DET: DET n-uncount • Little is also a pronoun. They get paid for it. Not much. Just a little. PRON • Little is also a quantifier. Pour a little of the sauce over the chicken... I'm sure she won't mind sparing us a little of her time. QUANT: QUANT of def-n-uncount/sing 4. If you do something a little, you do it for a short time. He walked a little by himself in the garden. ADV: ADV after v 5. A little or a little bit means to a small extent or degree. He complained a little of a nagging pain between his shoulder blades... He was a little bit afraid of his father's reaction... If you have to drive when you are tired, go a little more slowly than you would normally... ADV: ADV after v, ADV adj/adv 6. If something happens little by little, it happens very gradually. In the beginning he had felt well, but little by little he was becoming weaker... = gradually PHRASE: PHR with cl II. ADJECTIVE USES (littler, littlest) Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. Note: The comparative 'littler' and the superlative 'littlest' are sometimes used in spoken English for meanings 1, 3, and 4, but otherwise the comparative and superlative forms of the adjective 'little' are not used. 1. Little things are small in size. Little is slightly more informal than small. We sat around a little table, eating and drinking wine. ...the little group of art students. = small ? big ADJ: usu ADJ n 2. You use little to indicate that someone or something is small, in a pleasant and attractive way. She's got the nicest little house not far from the library. ...a little old lady... James usually drives a little hatchback. ADJ: ADJ n 3. A little child is young. I have a little boy of 8... When I was little I was very hyper-active. ADJ 4. Your little sister or brother is younger than you are. Whenever Daniel's little sister was asked to do something she always had a naughty reply. ? big ADJ: ADJ n 5. A little distance, period of time, or event is short in length. Just go down the road a little way, turn left, and cross the bridge... Why don't we just wait a little while and see what happens... I've been wanting to have a little talk with you. ? long ADJ: ADJ n 6. A little sound or gesture is quick. I had a little laugh to myself... She stood up quickly, giving a little cry of astonishment... He turned with a little nod and I watched him walk away. ADJ: ADJ n 7. You use little to indicate that something is not serious or important. ...irritating little habits... Harry found himself getting angry over little things that had never bothered him before. ADJ: ADJ n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. a. 1. Small (in size or extent), minute, diminutive, tiny. 2. Small (in quantity or amount). 3. Small (in dignity, power, or importance), inconsiderable, insignificant, unimportant. 4. Brief, short. 5. Inconsiderable, petty, slight, trivial, slender, feeble, moderate, scanty, weak, small (in force or efficiency). 6. Mean, selfish, narrow, paltry, contemptible, niggard, illiberal, small (in generosity). II. n. 1. Small quantity. 2. Miniature, small scale, small degree. III. ad. Slightly, in a small degree, in some degree, not much.

Moby Thesaurus

Lilliputian, a bit, a breath, a little, abject, abominable, ace, arrant, atom, atrocious, authoritarian, baby, back-burner, bantam, barely, base, beggarly, bigot, bigoted, bit, borne, bowshot, brief, brief span, by a hair, by an ace, casual, cheap, cheesy, close quarters, close range, closed, collateral, compact, compendious, concise, constricted, contemptible, crack, cramped, creedbound, crumb, crummy, cursory, curt, curtal, curtate, dab, deaf, deaf to reason, debased, decurtate, deficient, degraded, depraved, depthless, despicable, diminutive, dinky, dirty, disgusting, dispensable, dole, dollop, dot, dram, dribble, driblet, dwarf, earreach, earshot, elfin, ever so little, execrable, exiguous, exiguously, faintly, fanatical, farthing, feebly, few, flagrant, fleck, flyspeck, footling, fortuitous, foul, fragment, fulsome, gobbet, grain, granule, grave, groat, gross, gunshot, hair, hair space, hairbreadth, hairsbreadth, half-pint, handful, hardly, hardly any, hardly ever, heinous, hidebound, illiberal, immaterial, imperfect, imperfectly, in a nutshell, in miniature, in the small, inadequate, inappreciable, inappreciably, inch, incidental, incompetent, inconsequential, inconsequentially, inconsiderable, ineffectual, inessential, inferior, infinitesimal, infrequently, insignificant, insignificantly, instant, instantaneous, insufficient, insular, iota, irrelevant, itsy-bitsy, itty-bitty, jot, just a bit, knee-high, light, lightly, limited, little bit, little ways, little while, little-minded, low, low-down, lumpen, maladroit, mangy, meager, meagerly, mean, mean-minded, mean-spirited, measly, mediocre, microscopic, midget, mingy, mini, miniature, minim, minimally, minimum, minor, minuscule, minute, minutely, minutiae, miserable, mite, modicum, molecule, moment, monkey, monstrous, mote, narrow, narrow-hearted, narrow-minded, narrow-souled, narrow-spirited, nearsighted, nefarious, negligible, negligibly, niggard, niggardly, no, no great shakes, no time, nonessential, not any, not comparable, not enough, not hardly, not in it, not much, not vital, nutshell, obnoxious, odious, one-horse, only just, ounce, out of it, pair of winks, paltry, parochial, particle, pebble, petit, petite, petty, picayune, picayunish, piddling, pinch, pindling, pint-sized, pistol shot, pittance, point, poky, poor, potty, provincial, puny, purblind, pygmy, rank, rarely, reptilian, scabby, scant, scantily, scanty, scarcely, scrap, scrubby, scruffy, scruple, scummy, scurvy, secondary, seldom, self-centered, selfish, set, shabby, shallow, shoddy, shoestring, short, short and sweet, short distance, short piece, short spell, short time, short way, shortsighted, skimpy, skin-deep, slight, slightly, small, small space, small-beer, small-minded, smallish, smally, smidgen, smidgin, smitch, span, sparse, speck, spitting distance, spoonful, spot, spurt, squalid, step, stingy, straitlaced, stuffy, subordinate, subsidiary, succinct, summary, superficial, synoptic, tant soit peu, taste, technical, teensy-weensy, teeny, teeny-weeny, thimbleful, tiny, tiny bit, tittle, toy, transient, trifling, trifling amount, triflingly, trivia, trivial, two shakes, two-by-four, uncatholic, uncharitable, unchivalrous, undersized, unessential, unfrequently, ungenerous, unimaginative, unimportant, unimpressive, unliberal, unmentionable, unnoteworthy, unoften, unskillful, vile, weakly, wee, whit, wretched, young, youthful