SINCE 1828

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

bagatelle

noun bag·a·telle \ ˌba-gə-ˈtel \

Definition of bagatelle

1 :trifle 1

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

3 :a short literary or musical piece in light style

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 of bagatelle from the Web

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.

Origin and Etymology of bagatelle

French, from Italian bagattella

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1633

See Words from the same year

bagatelle Synonyms

Synonyms

trifle, child's play, frippery, nonproblem, nothing, picayune, shuck (s), small beer, small change, triviality

Related Words

naught (also nought), nothingness, smoke, zero; peanuts, pittance, song, straw, two bits; bunk, claptrap, drivel, folly, fribble, fudge, hogwash, humbug, humbuggery, nonsense, piffle, rot, trash, trivia; bit, crumb, dab, dram, lick, mite, ounce, particle, pinhead, scintilla, shred, smidgen (also smidgeon or smidgin or smidge), soupçon, speck, spot, tad, touch, trace

Learn More about bagatelle

See words that rhyme with bagatelle Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for bagatelle Spanish Central: Translation of bagatelle Nglish: Translation of bagatelle for Spanish speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about bagatelle

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up bagatelle? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show

WORD OF THE DAY

pelf

play

money or riches

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Test Your Vocabulary

The Exceptions Quiz III

Which of these words does not mean "nonsense"?

How Strong Is Your Vocabulary?

Test your vocabulary with our 10-question quiz!

TAKE THE QUIZ

SCRABBLE® Sprint

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Words at Play

8 Words That Put One Over on You

They'll put one over on you

alt-59ee3fc46688e

'Dis': From Early Rap to Academic Journals

The word has quickly taken center stage

alt-59ea52ed7b96f

Learned Fools: On Names for Students

Where did we get 'freshman' and 'sophomore'?

alt-59e900afadac6

The Synonyms 'Discover' and 'Invent'

In the past, you could invent fruit.

Ask the Editors

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066

Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless

Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals

Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

one-green-toy-robot-amidst-many-red-toy-robots

The Exceptions Quiz III

Which of these things doesn't belong?

Take the quiz

knupfer-painting-solon-before-croesus

Forms of Government Quiz

Name that government! Or something like that.

Take the quiz

How Strong Is Your Vocabulary?

How Strong Is Your Vocabulary?

Test your vocabulary with our 10-question quiz!

Take the quiz

SCRABBLE® Sprint

SCRABBLE® Sprint

SCRABBLE® fans, sharpen your skills!

Play the game

Examples: bagatelle in a Sentence