little

comparative littler · comparative lesser · superlative littlest · superlative least · alternative lil · alternative li'l · alternative li'l' · alternative lit'l · alternative leetle · alternative lickle · alternative liddle · alternative litle · alternative lytel · alternative littel · alternative lyttel · alternative litel

1. Small, not large, limited, particularly

   Not that she cared twopence for the enormous sum, really, now that concord was established! No, her little flutters of honest remorse were constantly disappearing in the immense exultant joy of being alive and of contemplating her idol.

   1914, Arnold Bennett, The Price of Love, Harper & Brothers, page 418

   Synonyms: compact, fun size, fun-sized, ickle, insignificant, lit'l, low, modest

2. Small, not large, limited
   1. Small, limited in size.

      This is a little table.

      Synonyms: compact, fun size, fun-sized, ickle, insignificant, lit'l, low, modest

   2. Short, limited in extent.

      It’s only a little ways now.

      1 more example

      Well, I'm afraid Pig Latin would not be very useful, Mrs. McGee. We have very little contact with the German general staff.

      1943 January 19, “Uppy Joins the WACs”, in Fibber McGee and Molly, spoken by the recruiter

      Synonyms: compact, fun size, fun-sized, ickle, insignificant, lit'l, low, modest

   3. Brief, limited in duration.

      I always feel better after a little sleep.

      Synonyms: compact, fun size, fun-sized, ickle, insignificant, lit'l, low, modest

   4. Young, limited in growth.

      Where's the little boys' room?

      Synonyms: compact, fun size, fun-sized, ickle, insignificant, lit'l, low, modest

   5. especiallyYounger, regardless of size or height.

      You may be an Olympic weightlifter but you're still my little sister.

      Synonyms: compact, fun size, fun-sized, ickle, insignificant, lit'l, low, modest

   6. Undeveloped or underdeveloped, limited in development, particularly (offensive, of a male) in the genitals.

      "You are a little, little man," she proclaimed, staring obviously below my waist as she pronounced the second "little." It was almost disappointing. I'd heard that one before, but it still left a new scar each time.

      2017, David Russell, Winston Patrick Mystery 2-Book Bundle, page 70

      Synonyms: compact, fun size, fun-sized, ickle, insignificant, lit'l, low, modest

   7. Small, limited in number, having few members.

      That's a mighty little herd you've got there.

      Synonyms: compact, fun size, fun-sized, ickle, insignificant, lit'l, low, modest

   8. Insignificant, trivial, limited in importance.

      It’s of little importance.

      1 more example

      Urania speaks with darken’d brow: ⁠‘Thou pratest here where thou art least; ⁠This faith has many a purer priest, And many an abler voice than thou: […]’

      1850, [Alfred, Lord Tennyson], “Canto XXXVII”, in In Memoriam, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 57

      Synonyms: compact, fun size, fun-sized, ickle, insignificant, lit'l, low, modest

   9. offensiveWeak, inferior, unimportant, etc., used to belittle a person.

      Listen up, you little shit.

      Synonyms: compact, fun size, fun-sized, ickle, insignificant, lit'l, low, modest

   10. capitalizedoftenparticularly a country or capitalDenoting a neighborhood whose residents or storekeepers are from that place.

       If you want to find Little France, take any turning on the north side of Leicester square, and wander in a zigzag fashion Oxford Streetwards. The Little is rather smokier and more squalid than the Great France upon the other side of the Manche.

       1871 October 18, The One-eyed Philosopher [pseudonym], "Street Corners", in Judy or The London Serio-comic Journal, vol. 9, page 255 http://books.google.com/books?id=_B4oAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA255

       2 more examples

       In the forties, hurdy-gurdy men could still be heard in all those East Coast cities with strong Italian neighbourhoods: New York, Baltimore, Philadelphia and Boston. A visit to Baltimore’s Little Italy at that time was like a trip to Italy itself.

       2004, Barry Miles, Zappa: A Biography, edition, published 2005, →ISBN, page 5

       “The theatre was bought by the Croatian immigrants as so many immigrants came here in the ’30s and mostly for mining jobs, but in Schumacher itself it was called little Zagreb, and Zagreb is the capital city of Croatia. There were so many of them that they wanted to have their own little community, so they bought the theatre and they renovated it at that time, remodelled it and made it into a Croatian Hall,” she explained.

       2020 September 29, Richa Bhosale, “Croatian Hall in need of repairs to remain open”, in Timmins Daily Press, archived from the original on 20 Apr 2021

       Synonyms: compact, fun size, fun-sized, ickle, insignificant, lit'l, low, modest

   11. capitalizedderogatoryoftenparticularly a countryUsed with the name of a place to imply that the inhabitants have an insular attitude and are hostile to those they perceive as foreign.

       He is the embodiment of Fleet Street bullying, using his newspaper to peddle his Little-England, curtain-twitching Alan Partridgesque view of the world, which manages to combine sanctimonious, pompous moralising and prurient, voyeuristic, judgmental obsession

       2012, Steve Coogan, Comedian Steve Coogan on Daily Mail editor Paul Dacre

       Synonyms: compact, fun size, fun-sized, ickle, insignificant, lit'l, low, modest

   12. derogatoryMean, selfish, bigoted, etc., limited in spirit.

       A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.

       2 more examples

       The long-necked geese of the world that are ever hissing dispraise, / Because their natures are little.

       1855, Alfred Tennyson, “Maud”, in Maud, and Other Poems, London: Edward Moxon, […], →OCLC, page 20

       Showing unmistakably what a little person he really was, in June 1949 he wrote his newly married daughter with nauseating disregard for the truth

       2001, Nicholas Petsalis-Diomidis, The Unknown Callas: the Greek Years, page 547

       Synonyms: compact, fun size, fun-sized, ickle, insignificant, lit'l, low, modest

   13. capitalizedfigurativelyoftenbusinessIndependent, limited in scale, especially contrasted with well-organized and well-capitalized cartels controlling most of an industry, market, etc.

       Little Science vs Big Science... Little Steel vs Big Steel...

       Synonyms: compact, fun size, fun-sized, ickle, insignificant, lit'l, low, modest

comparative less · comparative lesser · superlative least · alternative lil · alternative li'l · alternative li'l' · alternative lit'l · alternative leetle · alternative lickle · alternative liddle · alternative litle · alternative lytel · alternative littel · alternative lyttel · alternative litel · alternative lytell

1. Not much.

   We slept very little last night.

   4 more examples

   This is a little-known fact: the new model is little faster than the old one.

   She spoke little and listened less.

   Little disappointed, then, she turned attention to “Chat of the Social World,” gossip which exercised potent fascination upon the girl’s intelligence. She devoured with more avidity than she had her food those pretentiously phrased chronicles of the snobocracy—[…]—distilling therefrom an acid envy that robbed her napoleon of all its flavor.

   1914 November, Louis Joseph Vance, “An Outsider […]”, in Munsey’s Magazine, volume LIII, number II, New York, N.Y.: The Frank A[ndrew] Munsey Company, […], published 1915, →OCLC, chapter I (Anarchy), page 373, column 2

   Little polluted by the wastes that plague much of the Mediterranean, hundreds of miles of island-studded coast make Yugoslavia a prime destination for tourists.

   1990 August, Kenneth C. Danforth, “Yugoslavia: A House Much Divided”, in National Geographic, volume 178, number 2, page 106

2. Not at all.

   She little knew what awaited her.

   2 more examples

   Little did he know that the burglar was creeping upstairs at that very moment.

   But then I had the [massive] flintlock by me for protection. ¶[…]The linen-press and a chest on the top of it formed, however, a very good gun-carriage; and, thus mounted, aim could be taken out of the window[…], and a ‘bead’ could be drawn upon Molly, the dairymaid, kissing the fogger behind the hedge, little dreaming that the deadly tube was levelled at them.

   1879, R[ichard] J[efferies], chapter 1, in The Amateur Poacher, London: Smith, Elder, & Co., […], →OCLC

comparative less · superlative least · alternative lil · alternative li'l · alternative li'l' · alternative lit'l · alternative leetle · alternative lickle · alternative liddle · alternative litle · alternative lytel · alternative littel · alternative lyttel · alternative litel · alternative lytell · alternative litell

1. Not much, only a little: only a small amount (of).

   We had very little to do.

   2 more examples

   There is (very) little water left.

   Across Japan, technology companies and private investors are racing to install devices that until recently they had little interest in: solar panels. Massive solar parks are popping up as part of a rapid build-up that one developer likened to an “explosion.”

   2013 June 21, Chico Harlan, “Japan pockets the subsidy …”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 2, page 30

alternative lil · alternative li'l · alternative li'l' · alternative lit'l · alternative leetle · alternative lickle · alternative liddle · alternative litle · alternative lytel · alternative littel · alternative lyttel · alternative litel · alternative lytell · alternative litell · alternative lytyll · alternative lytle

1. Not much; not a large amount.

   Little is known about his early life.

plural littles · alternative lil · alternative li'l · alternative li'l' · alternative lit'l · alternative leetle · alternative lickle · alternative liddle · alternative litle · alternative lytel · alternative littel · alternative lyttel · alternative litel · alternative lytell · alternative litell · alternative lytyll

1. singularuncountableA small amount.

   Many littles make a mickle.

   3 more examples

   I hope the little we've done will be useful.

   Little did he do to make me comfortable.

   If you want some cake, there’s a little in the refrigerator.

2. countableinformalA child, particularly an infant.
3. An adult in a child-like role, or in the more junior of two paired roles.
   1. countableuniversity slangA newly initiated member of a sorority or fraternity, who is mentored by a big.

      Some traditions of the chapter include lineages with bigs and littles, receiving of paddles from a big, and a national stroll, Wolsch-Gallia said.

      2022 September 27, Shreya Varrier, “Gamma Rho Lambda provides LGBTQIA+ community in greek life”, in Iowa State Daily, archived from the original on 08 Feb 2023

      2 more examples

      He was there the night of Cristoph's party. All the littles were assigned to their bigs. Ian and Christoph had rushed the same fraternity. When they became upperclassmen, they both ended up on the board.

      2018, Kelly Ann Gonzales, Through an Opaque Window

      She added that the relationship between bigs and littles is "what each pair makes of it," and that a lot of the pairs often get dinner together and become close friends.

      2019 April 1, Audrey Steinkamp, “Sororities pair new members with "bigs"”, in Yale Daily News, archived from the original on 20 Feb 2026

      Antonyms: big

   2. countableThe participant who acts out the younger role.

      Antonyms: big

   3. countableage regressionOne who has mentally age regressed to a childlike state.

      Antonyms: big

   4. countablemultiplicityA childlike alter.

      People with [dissociative identity] disorder frequently have a younger personality among their distinctive personalities. However, it’s believed that the "little" may not be a separate personality. Instead, it may be a regressed version of the original personality.

      2019 August 30, Kimberly Holland, Healthline, archived from the original on 21 Apr 2024

      Antonyms: big

4. abbreviationcountableellipsisuncountableEllipsis of little go (“type of examination”).

   I go up for my Little tomorrow.

plural Littles · alternative Littel · alternative Littell · alternative Lytle · alternative Lyttle · alternative Litle · alternative Lightle · alternative Lightley · alternative Lighthill

1. countableuncountableA characteristical surname.
2. countableuncountableAn unincorporated community in Breathitt County, Kentucky, United States, named after the local Little family.
3. countableuncountableAn unincorporated community in Tyler County, West Virginia, United States.