(it's a) small world
idiom
—used to show surprise when one meets someone one knows at an unexpected place or finds out that one shares a friend, acquaintance, etc., with another person
You know him, too? Wow, it's a small world.
Examples of (it's a) small world in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Englander, who is forty-eight years old, is a big name in a small world.
—
Jane Bua, New Yorker, 5 May 2025
Sophie and her family had their place in a West that was both a big place and a small world.
—Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Apr. 2025
Horse racing is a fairly small world, and, between Del Mar and Santa Anita, McCarthy and Wellman ran into one another enough to become friendly, even as their careers wound forward in seemingly divergent directions.
—Dana O'Neil, New York Times, 1 May 2025
As the pandemic raged, the lawsuit hardly registered outside the small world of nerds obsessed with copyright rules.
—Kate Knibbs, WIRED, 19 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for (it's a) small world
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Jane Bua, New Yorker, 5 May 2025
Sophie and her family had their place in a West that was both a big place and a small world.
—Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Apr. 2025
Horse racing is a fairly small world, and, between Del Mar and Santa Anita, McCarthy and Wellman ran into one another enough to become friendly, even as their careers wound forward in seemingly divergent directions.
—Dana O'Neil, New York Times, 1 May 2025
As the pandemic raged, the lawsuit hardly registered outside the small world of nerds obsessed with copyright rules.
—Kate Knibbs, WIRED, 19 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for (it's a) small world
Cite this Entry
“(it's a) small world.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/%28it%27s%20a%29%20small%20world. Accessed 20 May. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share