Meanings
plural smidgens · alternative smidgeon · alternative smidgin
- informalChiefly in the form a smidgen of: a very small amount or quantity; a bit, a trace.
Move it a smidgen to the right.
5 more examples
Would you like some more cake? ―I’ll have a smidgen.
Unkle Will says when he tould her to mind the siggering in the Crock,—she run to the Spence for a smidgen of skalded cream.
[1824], Robin Baragwaneth [pseudonym], The Wooden Horse, for the Rounder, and the Horse without a Head. […], Penzance, Cornwall: […] J. Thomas, →OCLC, page 10It's jest a meracle we wa'n't all blowed to smidgens, the hull b'ilin' lot of us.
1889 February, “The Pipeses’ Party”, in Frank Leslie’s Pleasant Hours. Devoted to Light and Entertaining Literature, volume XLVI, New York, N.Y.: Mrs. Frank Leslie [Miriam Leslie], […], →OCLC, page 473, column 2He didn't look the least smidgen like our Mart Mayo, but if they was both on the track in a lyin match, whilst he might not beat old Mart, I am satisfied he would make the track devilish dusty for a few heats anyhow.
1898, Francis Bartow Lloyd, “The Farmer and the Broncho”, in Lily C. Lloyd, editor, Sketches of Country Life: Humor, Wisdom and Pathos from the “Sage of Rocky Creek” […], Birmingham, Ala.: Press of Roberts & Son, →OCLC, page 80I could listen to forty million men like this candidate expound his views and it wouldn't alter me one smidgen in the belief that Carson Dwight has acted only as a true Christian would.
1907 September, Will[iam] N[athaniel] Harben, chapter XXXVII, in Mam’ Linda […], New York, N.Y.; London: Harper & Brothers, →OCLC, page 304Synonyms: drop, pinch, smidge, smidget, smidgy, smitch, touch, ace · Antonyms: abundance, battalion, arseload, assload, bellyload, boatload, brimful, busload
- broadlyinformalChiefly in the form a smidgen of a: a very small or insignificant person or thing; also, an instance of such a person or thing.
Lucille wore one of those little smidgins of hats held on by inturned combs.
1962 July, John Steinbeck, “Part 1”, in Travels with Charley in Search of America, London: William Heinemann, published 1962, →OCLC, page 1061 more example
In fifty years, did you ever have a vacation, you little, silly, half-pint, smidgin of a wife?
1952 September 19, John Steinbeck, chapter 23, in East of Eden, New York, N.Y.: The Viking Press, →OCLC, book 3, section 3, page 289Synonyms: dwarf, midget, pipsqueak, shorty, absolute zero, also-ran, chopped liver, cipher · Antonyms: bulk, giant, behemoth, Brobdingnagian, colossus, ettin, Goliath, hulk
Synonyms & antonyms
nounChiefly in the form a smidgen of: a very small amount or quantity; a bit, a trace.
nounChiefly in the form a smidgen of a: a very small or insignificant person or thing; also, an instance of such a person or thing.
More synonyms by meaning
nouna tiny or scarcely detectable amount
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Englishsmit“(UK, dialectal) a stain”
- Englishsmutch“dirty mark, smudge, stain; dirt, grime; slight indication”
- Scotssmitch“smudge, stain; blemish; very small amount, speck, trace; small insignificant person”
- Proto-Indo-European*smewgʰ-“smoke”
- Proto-Germanic*smeukaną“to fume, smoke”
- Proto-West Germanic*smauki“smoke”
- Old Englishsmēc
- Middle Englishsmeche
- Englishsmidgen
Origin uncertain; possibly from smitch (“(originally Scotland, chiefly US) very small amount or quantity”) + possibly -in (a variant of -ing (suffix forming nouns denoting things considered collectively)). Smitch is possibly: * derived from smitch (“smoke from a burning or smouldering thing; spot of dirt; blemish; dirt, grime”), a variant of smeech (“(southwest England) (dense or pungent) smoke; airborne dust”), from Middle English smeche, smek, smiche (“smoke from a burning or smouldering thing; cloud of smoke; fumes, vapour; smell”), from Old English smēc, smīc (“smoke; steam; vapour”), from Proto-West Germanic *smauki (“smoke”), related to Proto-Germanic *smeukaną (“to fume, smoke”), from Proto-Indo-European *smewgʰ- (“smoke”); or * borrowed from Scots smitch (“smudge, stain; blemish; very small amount, speck, trace; small insignificant person”), possibly a variant of English smutch (“dirty mark, smudge, stain; dirt, grime; slight indication”) (probably related to smudge, ultimate etymology unknown) and influenced by English smit (“(UK, dialectal) a stain”).
More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian малко количество, парченце
- малко количество (malko količestvo)very small amount or quantity
- парченце (parčence)very small amount or quantity
Catalan busca, engruna
- buscavery small amount or quantity
- engrunavery small amount or quantity
- esquitxvery small amount or quantity
- volvavery small amount or quantity
Chinese Mandarin 少量, 微量
- 少量 (shǎoliàng)very small amount or quantity
- 微量 (wēiliàng)very small amount or quantity
Czech ždibec, drobet
- ždibecvery small amount or quantity
- drobetvery small amount or quantity
- troškavery small amount or quantity
Finnish hippunen, hitunen
- hippunenvery small amount or quantity
- hitunenvery small amount or quantity
- hiukkanenvery small amount or quantity
- rahtuvery small amount or quantity
French chouïa
- chouïavery small amount or quantity
German Quäntchen, Quentchen
- Quäntchenvery small amount or quantity
- Quentchenvery small amount or quantity
Greek δράμι
- δράμι (drámi)very small amount or quantity
Hungarian csipet
- csipetvery small amount or quantity
Irish ruainnín
- ruainnínvery small amount or quantity
Japanese ちょっぴり, 少量
- ちょっぴり (choppiri)very small amount or quantity
- 少量 (shōryō)very small amount or quantity
Korean 소량
- 소량 (soryang)very small amount or quantity
Māori ngarengare
- ngarengarevery small amount or quantity
Norwegian Bokmål dæsj, smule
- dæsjvery small amount or quantity
- smulevery small amount or quantity
Polish kapka, źdźbło
- kapkavery small amount or quantity
- źdźbłovery small amount or quantity
- ździebkovery small amount or quantity
Portuguese bocadinho, cadinho
- bocadinhovery small amount or quantity
- cadinhovery small amount or quantity
- chichizinhovery small amount or quantity
- nadinhavery small amount or quantity
- poucochinhovery small amount or quantity
- pouquinhovery small amount or quantity
- tiquitovery small amount or quantity
Romanian bucățică, câtime
- bucățicăvery small amount or quantity
- câtimevery small amount or quantity
Russian чу́точка, ка́пля
- чу́точка (čútočka)very small amount or quantity
- ка́пля (káplja)very small amount or quantity
- ма́лость (málostʹ)very small amount or quantity
Swedish gnutta, smula
- gnuttavery small amount or quantity
- smulavery small amount or quantity
Turkish nebze
- nebzevery small amount or quantity
Vietnamese vi lượng
- vi lượngvery small amount or quantity
Welsh mymryn
- mymrynvery small amount or quantity
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with smidgen
All rhymes →Anagrams
Cite this entry
smidgen. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/smidgen
“smidgen.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/smidgen. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “smidgen,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/smidgen.
Source: smidgen on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.