dwarf

noun, often attributive \ ˈdwȯrf \

|Updated on: 16 Jul 2018

plural dwarfs play \ˈdwȯrfs\ also dwarves play \ˈdwȯrvz\

1 a : a person of unusually small stature (see stature 1); especially : a person whose height does not exceed 4' 10" and is typically less than 4' 5"

b : an insignificant person

a literary dwarf

2 : an animal or plant much below normal size

3 folklore : a small legendary manlike being who is usually misshapen and ugly and skilled as a craftsman

4 astronomy : a star (such as the sun) of ordinary or low luminosity and relatively small mass and size

—

dwarfish

play \ˈdwȯr-fish\ adjective

—

dwarfishly

adverb

—

dwarfishness

noun

—

dwarflike

play \ˈdwȯrf-ˌlīk\ adjective

—

dwarfness

play \ˈdwȯrf-nəs\ noun

See dwarf defined for English-language learners

See dwarf defined for kids

Examples of dwarf in a Sentence

Shetland ponies are the dwarfs of the horse world.
Snow White and the seven dwarfs.

Recent Examples of dwarf from the Web

For a pink dwarf crape myrtle, the experts identified Pokomoto as a selection to consider.

— calvin finch, San Antonio Express-News, "There’s a lot to love about crape myrtles," 6 July 2018
In the image above, PDS 70 (the young dwarf star) is the black circle at the center, according to a release from the ESO.

— sarah gray, Fortune, "Watch Incredible, First-Ever Footage of a Planet Being Born," 5 July 2018
It is named after the dwarf star PDS 70, CNN reported.

— natalie dreier, ajc, "Astronomers confirm they have photographic proof of newborn planet," 3 July 2018
The first-of-its-kind image — included in new research to be published in the journal Astronomy & Astrophysics — shows an alien world known as PDS 70b that orbits a dwarf star some 370 light-years from Earth in the constellation Centaurus.

— david freeman /, NBC News, "Giant telescope captures first-ever snapshot of a newborn planet," 3 July 2018
One of those stars was PDS 70, a 10-million-year-old dwarf star about 370 light years from Earth.

— daniel clery, Science | AAAS, "In a first, astronomers witness the birth of a planet from gas and dust," 2 July 2018
The black hole lives in a binary system with an orange dwarf star.

— laura yan, Popular Mechanics, "Stephen Hawking's Voice Got Beamed To a Black Hole," 17 June 2018
Making good on the bet, the Boston zoo introduced a two-week-old Nigerian dwarf goat named after the Eagles Super Bowl MVP quarterback.

— charlotte carroll, SI.com, "New England Zoo Pays Off Super Bowl Bet By Naming Baby Goat After Nick Foles," 10 May 2018
Large, established oleanders likely will return; dwarf oleanders are iffy.

— kathy huber, Houston Chronicle, "After the freeze comes the cleanup in the garden," 19 Jan. 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of dwarf

Middle English dwerg, dwerf, from Old English dweorg, dweorh; akin to Old High German twerg dwarf

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

dwarf Synonyms

Other Mythology and Folklore Terms

elysian, fay, muse, nimbus, phoenix

dwarf

verb

transitive verb

1 : to restrict the growth of : stunt

children dwarfed by malnutrition

2 : to cause to appear smaller or to seem inferior

dwarfed by his older brother

has dwarfed the achievements of her predecessors

intransitive verb

: to become smaller

See dwarf defined for English-language learners

Examples of dwarf in a Sentence

shrubs dwarfed by the lack of water

Recent Examples of dwarf from the Web

But Nelson’s fundraising is dwarfed by Gov. Rick Scott, the Republican challenging the senator’s re-election.

— anthony man, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Bill Nelson announces impressive fundraising haul; still dwarfed by Rick Scott," 13 July 2018
However, the lake's walleyes are dwarfed in number by bass and panfish.

— paul a. smith, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Smith: Can the walleye population rebound in McDermott Lake if bass and panfish are reduced?," 30 June 2018
The brush with China is dwarfed by the economic head winds the coal sector faces at home.

— dino grandoni, Washington Post, "The Energy 202: Coal is getting caught up in Trump’s burgeoning trade war," 20 June 2018
Tents housing some of the city’s 7,500 homeless individuals were dwarfed outside by trailers ostensibly set up for the creators who danced and vogued for a short live video to kick off the event.

— katy steinmetz, Time, "Instagram Is Adding Hour-Long Videos to Take on YouTube," 20 June 2018
Those fears weigh heavily in both Mexico and Canada, whose economies are dwarfed by the US.

— z. byron wolf, CNN, "North America feels divided on everything but the World Cup," 13 June 2018
Humans and their cattle, pigs, and other livestock are dwarfed by plants, but outweigh wild mammals by more than 20-fold.

— katie langin, Science | AAAS, "Top stories: rival giant telescopes, hefty plants, and the mystery behind ‘gluten sensitivity’," 25 May 2018
Their transfer budget was just dwarfed by whatever else went on in Europe and fees just sky rocketed.

— SI.com, "Local Reporter Reveals Shocking Transfer Agreement Made Between Rafael Benitez and Mike Ashley," 24 May 2018
His modest graduating class of 423 is dwarfed by the university’s ever-increasing numbers, particularly during the 26-year tenure of outgoing UCF President John Hitt.

— annie martin, OrlandoSentinel.com, "UCF President John Hitt's last graduating class tops 8,000 students," 3 May 2018

Origin and Etymology of dwarf

see ¹dwarf

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1626

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

See Words from the same year

dwarf Synonyms

Synonyms

stunt, suppress;

Near Antonyms

advance, boost, encourage, forward, foster, nourish, nurture, promote;

balk, block, hold back, impede, obstruct, stem;

diminish, downsize, shrink;

dwarf

adjective

of a plant

: low-growing in habit

a dwarf peach tree

dwarfer forms of citrus

See dwarf defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of dwarf from the Web

Dwarf planet Ceres, found in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, sports a weirdly tall and lonely mountain: Ahuna Mons.

— liz kruesi, Discover Magazine, "Ceres Hosts an Ice Volcano," 21 Dec. 2016
Dwarf irises Why grow them: My bright-purple reticulatas reliably bloom in the first weeks of March, sticking their speckled tongues out at raging wind.

— susan clotfelter, The Denver Post, "Ten plants that even a black-thumb gardener can’t kill," 31 Mar. 2017

Origin and Etymology of dwarf

see ¹dwarf

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1597

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

Other Botany Terms

annual, burgeon, chloroplast, nomenclature, succulent, sylvan, xylem

Financial Definition of DWARF

dwarf

noun

What It Is

In the mortgage business, a dwarf is a group of mortgage-backed securities that mature in fewer than 15 years. The Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA or Fannie Mae) issues dwarves.

How It Works

Mortgage-backed securities (MBS) are securities that represent an interest in a pool of mortgage loans. Let's assume you want to buy a house, so you get a mortgage from XYZ Bank. XYZ Bank transfers money into your account, and you agree to repay the money according to a set schedule. XYZ Bank (which could also be a thrift, credit union, or other originator) may then choose to hold the mortgage in its portfolio (i.e., simply collect the interest and principal payments over the next several years) or sell it.

If XYZ Bank sells the mortgage, it gets cash to make other loans. So let's assume that XYZ Bank sells your mortgage to Fannie Mae. Fannie Mae groups your mortgage with similar mortgages it has already purchased (referred to as "pooling" the mortgages). The mortgages in the pool have common characteristics (i.e., similar interest rates, maturities). Pools that mature in fewer than 15 years make up dwarves.

Fannie Mae then sells securities that represent an interest in the dwarves, of which your mortgage is a small part (called securitizing the pool). It sells these MBS to investors in the open market. With the funds from the sale of the MBS, Fannie Mae can purchase more mortgages and create more MBS.

Why It Matters

For investors, an MBS is much like a bond, and dwarves are relatively short-term bonds in this sense However, it is important to note that payments that are part interest and part principal could be unfavorable to some dwarf investors, because with each decrease in outstanding principal there is a corresponding decrease in the amount of interest that accrues. The return of principal could also vary depending on how quickly the underlying mortgages are repaid.

Fannie Mae guarantees the timely payment of interest and principal on the MBS they issue -- that is, if the borrowers do not make their mortgage payments on time, Fannie Mae will still make timely interest and principal payments to their MBS investors. It is important to note that the U.S. government does not guarantee Fannie Mae. That is, if it cannot fulfill their obligations to its MBS investors, the government has no responsibility to rescue it.

Source: Investing Answers

DWARF Defined for English Language Learners

dwarf

verb

: to make (something) look very small or unimportant when compared with something else

dwarf

adjective

of a plant or animal : smaller than normal size

DWARF Defined for Kids

dwarf

noun \ ˈdwȯrf \

plural dwarfs \ˈdwȯrfs\ also dwarves \ˈdwȯrvz\

1 : a person, animal, or plant much smaller than normal size

2 : a creature in legends that is usually pictured as a small person who is skilled at some craft

dwarf

verb

dwarfed; dwarfing

: to cause to appear smaller Our car was dwarfed by the giant redwood trees.

dwarf

adjective

: of less than the usual size

dwarf pine trees

Medical Dictionary

dwarf

noun, often attributive \ ˈdwȯ(ə)rf \

plural dwarfs play \ˈdwȯ(ə)rfs\ also dwarves play \ˈdwȯ(ə)rvz\

1 : a person of unusually small stature; especially : a person whose height does not exceed 4 feet 10 inches (1.47 meters) and is typically less than 4 feet 5 inches (1.35 meters)

2 : an animal much below normal size

dwarf

transitive verb

: to restrict the growth of : stunt

Learn More about dwarf

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

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dwarf

dwarfish

dwarfishly

dwarfishness

dwarflike

dwarfness

Examples of dwarf in a Sentence

Recent Examples of dwarf from the Web

Origin and Etymology of dwarf

dwarf Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Near Antonyms

Related Words

Other Mythology and Folklore Terms

dwarf

Examples of dwarf in a Sentence

Recent Examples of dwarf from the Web

Origin and Etymology of dwarf

dwarf Synonyms

Synonyms

Near Antonyms

Related Words

dwarf

Recent Examples of dwarf from the Web

Origin and Etymology of dwarf

Other Botany Terms

Financial Definition of DWARF

What It Is

How It Works

Why It Matters

DWARF Defined for English Language Learners

dwarf

dwarf

DWARF Defined for Kids

dwarf

dwarf

dwarf

Medical Dictionary

dwarf

dwarf

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