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Definition of dwarf
(Entry 1 of 3)
1a : a person of unusually small stature (see stature sense 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
dwarf
verbDefinition of dwarf (Entry 2 of 3)
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
: to become smaller
dwarf
adjectiveDefinition of dwarf (Entry 3 of 3)
: low-growing in habit a dwarf peach tree dwarfer forms of citrus
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Other words from dwarf
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Synonyms & Antonyms for dwarf
Synonyms: Noun
diminutive, midget, mite, peewee, pygmy (also pigmy), runt, scrub, shrimp, Tom Thumb
Synonyms: Verb
Antonyms: Noun
behemoth, colossus, giant, jumbo, leviathan, mammoth, monster, titan
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Examples of dwarf in a Sentence
Noun
Shetland ponies are the dwarfs of the horse world. Snow White and the seven dwarfs.Verb
shrubs dwarfed by the lack of water
Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
On Nidavellir, the heart of a dying star, Thor forges a new weapon, Stormbreaker, with the help of Rocket, Groot (Vin Diesel) and the dwarf Eitri (Peter Dinklage). — Richard Newby, The Hollywood Reporter, "The Boundless Potential of Thor," 6 May 2018 There are many types to choose from, including hollies, boxwoods, rhododendrons, and aspidistra, with more new dwarf varieties being released each season. — Timothy Dahl, Popular Mechanics, "Easy-To-Grow Plants You Should Plant This Spring," 1 Mar. 2018 Fortunately, there is now a dwarf — and aptly named — form of this outstanding shrub. — Earl Nickel, SFChronicle.com, "Let this ‘Purple Pixie’ bring a little color to the garden," 29 June 2018 Grump and his fellow dwarves are all here, sneezing, stuttering, complaining and singing. — The Christian Science Monitor, "4 delightful new books for middle-grade readers," 7 June 2018 Annuals such as dwarf sunflowers and California poppies produce flowers quickly and can grow in deeper containers, Zagory noted. — Debbie Arrington, sacbee, "Put bee-friendly flowers anywhere with portable pollinator gardens | The Sacramento Bee," 8 Mar. 2018 But the model doesn’t seem to explain why a group of small galaxies, called dwarf or satellite galaxies, seem to orbit Centaurus A in a neat orbital plane like planets orbiting a star. — Kiona N. Smith, Ars Technica, "New observations of galaxies challenge the standard cosmological model," 1 Feb. 2018 Yet the speeds of stars in nearby dwarf galaxies indicate that in their cores dark matter is spread out smoothly over a larger volume. — Adrian Cho, Science | AAAS, "Galaxy simulations are at last matching reality—and producing surprising insights into cosmic evolution," 30 May 2018 For large containers, dwarf cannas and dwarf dahlias also make satisfying additions. — The Editors Of Organic Life, Good Housekeeping, "Everything You Need To Know About Container Gardening," 1 June 2017Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
Republican consultant Larry Shaheen said the money on both sides could be dwarfed by outside spending by parties and other groups. — Jim Morrill, charlotteobserver, "Why one GOP strategist says ‘Republicans are going to have to work harder than ever’," 12 July 2018 In a cavernous metal warehouse on the CSIRO campus that has long been used to study coal combustion, two of Dolan's colleagues are assembling a 2-meter-tall reactor that is dwarfed by a nearby coal reactor. — Robert F. Service, Science | AAAS, "Ammonia—a renewable fuel made from sun, air, and water—could power the globe without carbon," 12 July 2018 But Iglesias' Miami store-front operation was dwarfed by Suarez's check-cashing enterprise in Hialeah, authorities said. — Jay Weaver, miamiherald, "Feds expose shadowy, $500 million check-cashing chain in Hialeah and its real owner," 2 July 2018 The hepatitis A outbreak among homeless people gave the effort a push, although Los Angeles' 12 cases were dwarfed by San Diego's rash, which included 20 deaths and 402 hospitalizations. — Gale Holland, latimes.com, "It took more than a decade to open public bathrooms on skid row. After three months, they're already gone," 29 May 2018 Baidu was once considered on par with Alibaba and Tencent, but both now dwarf Baidu in market capitalization. — Yoko Kubota, WSJ, "Baidu’s President Stepping Down for ‘Family Reasons’," 18 May 2018 Harry also poked fun at their grandfather, the Duke of Edinburgh, being dwarfed by Princess Catherine in her three-inch heels, The Telegraph reported. — Kate Storey, Town & Country, "Here’s What To Expect From Prince William’s Best Man Speech at the Royal Wedding," 15 May 2018 That frequency dwarfs League of Legends’ average of about four heroes per year and, to a longtime Dota 2 obsessive like myself, that sounds like the payoff to some awful blood magic. — Steven Strom, Ars Technica, "How Epic’s Fortnite rose from the ashes of Paragon’s failure," 11 May 2018 China dwarfs every other country in the world in its demand for soybeans and buys about a third of the US’s soybean crops. — Zeeshan Aleem, Vox, "Trump thinks he has nothing to lose in a trade war with China. He’s wrong.," 4 Apr. 2018Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective
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. 2017These 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.
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More Definitions for dwarf
dwarf
nounFinancial Definition of dwarf
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
verbEnglish Language Learners Definition of dwarf
(Entry 1 of 2)
: to make (something) look very small or unimportant when compared with something else
dwarf
adjectiveEnglish Language Learners Definition of dwarf (Entry 2 of 2)
of a plant or animal : smaller than normal size
See the full definition for dwarf in the English Language Learners Dictionary
dwarf
noun
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Kids Definition of dwarf
(Entry 1 of 3)
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
verbKids Definition of dwarf (Entry 2 of 3)
: to cause to appear smaller Our car was dwarfed by the giant redwood trees.
dwarf
adjectiveKids Definition of dwarf (Entry 3 of 3)
: of less than the usual size dwarf pine trees
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also dwarves\ˈdwȯ(ə)rvz
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Medical Definition of dwarf
(Entry 1 of 2)
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 verbMedical Definition of dwarf (Entry 2 of 2)
: to restrict the growth of : stunt
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