de minimis

adjective

de min·​i·​mis dē-ˈmi-nə-məs 

dā-ˈmē-ni-mis

: lacking significance or importance : so minor as to merit disregard

de minimis fringe benefits

what amounts to a de minimis tax increase

Did you know?

Proponents of readable prose over jargon and legalese might argue that the last thing 20th-century American jurisprudence needed was another Latin term. Yet here we have a legal term that entered English only around 1950. Perhaps we should clarify: the legal doctrine of de minimis non curat lex ("the law does not concern itself with trifling matters") has been around for a while, but use of de minimis on its own is relatively recent. At first, the shortened phrase was simply used to refer to the legal doctrine itself ("the de minimis rule"). Then it came to be used more broadly as an adjective ("de minimis contacts with the defendant"). Finally, de minimis leaked out of the courtroom and into the world at large.

Synonyms

• chicken
• footling
• inconsequential
• inconsiderable
• insignificant
• measly
• Mickey Mouse
• minute
• negligible
• niggling
• no-account
• nominal
• paltry
• peanut
• petty
• picayune
• piddling
• piddly
• piffling
• pimping
• slight
• trifling
• trivial

Examples of de minimis in a Sentence

investors disappointed by stock dividends that were decidedly de minimis

Recent Examples on the Web

In 2023, for the first time, more than 1 billion de minimis packages came through U.S. customs, up from 134 million packages in 2015. —Didi Tang, Fortune Asia, 4 Mar. 2024

During the pandemic, when e-commerce purchases soared, so did the use of de minimis. —Jordyn Holman Audra Melton, New York Times, 21 Jan. 2024

China, for example, sets the de minimis threshold at about $7. —Didi Tang, Fortune Asia, 4 Mar. 2024

But that cost would roughly double for the consumer if de minimis treatment no longer applied because importers would have to hire a customs broker and pay additional processing fees and the import duty. —Kevin Freking The Associated Press, arkansasonline.com, 25 Feb. 2024

While real-time payments have seen explosive adoption in India and Brazil, reaching 83% and 50% respectively, the US remains de minimis under 2%. —Alex Lazarow, Forbes, 18 Feb. 2024

The e-commerce boom brought on by the pandemic wasn’t the only factor in the proliferation of de minimis shipments. —Jordyn Holman Audra Melton, New York Times, 21 Jan. 2024

Shein, on its end, surprisingly agrees that the de minimis exemption should be updated. —Nana Ama Sarfo, Forbes, 13 Nov. 2023

The volume of products coming into the U.S. that benefit from the de minimis rule has soared in recent years. —Kevin Freking, BostonGlobe.com, 24 June 2023

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, concerning trifles

First Known Use

1905, in the meaning defined above

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Legal Definition

de minimis

adjective

de min·​i·​mis dē-ˈmi-nə-məs, dā-ˈmē-ni-mis 

: lacking significance or importance : so minor as to be disregarded compare substantial

Note: An action may be dismissed if the claim or cause is considered de minimis.

Etymology

New Latin, concerning trifles