bagatelle

noun

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bag·a·telle | \ ˌba-gə-ˈtel

Definition of bagatelle

1 : trifle sense 1

2 : any of various games involving the rolling of balls into scoring areas

3 : a short literary or musical piece in light style

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Examples of bagatelle in a Sentence

the question of who will pick up the coffee is a mere bagatelle in the overall planning of the conference

Recent Examples on the Web Pinball is back Pinball got its start in 18th-century France with the billiardslike tabletop game bagatelle, which used a springlike launcher. — San Antonio Express-News, "San Antonio home to a world-ranked pinball wizard," 5 Mar. 2020 Overall this novel is an entertaining bagatelle, told by a proficient storyteller in an engaging way. — David Shribman, BostonGlobe.com, "Tuned in to the ‘Summer of ’69’," 22 Aug. 2019 Lewis kept the scope of emotion in the first bagatelle more along the lines of concerned. — Peter Dobrin, Philly.com, "Paul Lewis closes Philadelphia Chamber Music Society piano series," 11 May 2018 As far as performance marathons go, the 10 hours of John Zorn’s bagatelles on Saturday at National Sawdust in Brooklyn may not have been the most sprawling. — Zachary Woolfe, New York Times, "A John Zorn Weekend — 10-Hour Marathon Concert Included," 24 Oct. 2016

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'bagatelle.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.