little

1 of 4

adjective

lit·​tle ˈli-tᵊl 

littler ˈli-tᵊl-ər 

ˈlit-lər

or less ˈles  or lesser ˈle-sər  ; littlest ˈli-tᵊl-əst 

ˈlit-ləst

or least ˈlēst 

1

: not big: such as

a

: small in size or extent : tiny

has little feet

b

: young

was too little to remember

c

of a plant or animal : small in comparison with related forms

—used in vernacular names

d

: having few members or inhabitants

a little group

little towns

e

: small in condition, distinction, or scope

big business trampling on the little fellow

f

: narrow, mean

the pettiness of little minds

g

: pleasingly small

a cute little thing

h

—used as an intensive

why, you little devil!

2

: not much: such as

a

: existing only in a small amount or to a slight degree

has little money

b

: short in duration : brief

There is little time left.

c

: existing to an appreciable though not extensive degree or amount

—used with a

had a little money in the bank

3

: small in importance or interest : trivial

a few little problems to be dealt with

littleness

ˈli-tᵊl-nəs 

noun

little

2 of 4

adverb

less ˈles  ; least ˈlēst 

1

a

: in only a small quantity or degree : slightly

facts that were little known at the time

b

: not at all

cared little for their neighbors

2

: rarely, infrequently

little

3 of 4

pronoun

: not much : almost nothing

Little has changed.

There was little to spare.

They ate little that morning.

The child recalled/understood little of what happened.

There is little we can do to help.

His argument did little to change their minds.

They told us precious little about the situation.

little

4 of 4

noun

plural littles

1

: a small amount or quantity

She felt better after she'd eaten a little.

There's still some money left, but only a very little.

They didn't understand much but they did understand a little.

They understood more than a little [=much] of what was going on.

The family worked hard to earn what little they could.

With quality perfumes a little goes a long way.

—Gerry Cupido

2

: a short time or distance

We sat and rested for a little.

It's on the right, just a little past the school.

3

: a young child : little one

How you introduce your littles to the trail helps determine what they think of hiking as they grow.

—Backpacker

… Beyoncé and JAY-Z don't post many photos of their littlest littles.

—Azure Hall

As a mom determined to nurse each of her littles, I've tucked myself away in airplane bathrooms dozens of times to pump ounces of milk.

—Kourtney Gibson

see also a little

Phrases

in little

: on a small scale

especially : in miniature

Synonyms

Adjective

• low
• low-lying
• low-slung
• sawed-off
• short

Adverb

• negligibly
• nominally
• slightly

Noun

• ace
• bit
• crumb
• dab
• dram
• driblet
• glimmer
• hint
• lick
• mite
• nip
• ounce
• particle
• peanuts
• ray
• scintilla
• scruple
• shade
• shadow
• shred
• skosh
• smack
• smell
• smidgen
• smidgeon
• smidgin
• smidge
• snap
• soupçon
• spark
• spatter
• speck
• splash
• spot
• sprinkling
• strain
• streak
• suspicion
• tad
• touch
• trace

Choose the Right Synonym for little

small, little, diminutive, minute, tiny, miniature mean noticeably below average in size.

small and little are often interchangeable, but small applies more to relative size determined by capacity, value, number.

a relatively small backyard

little is more absolute in implication often carrying the idea of petiteness, pettiness, insignificance, or immaturity.

your pathetic little smile

diminutive implies abnormal smallness.

diminutive bonsai plants

minute implies extreme smallness.

a minute amount of caffeine in the soda

tiny is an informal equivalent to minute.

tiny cracks formed in the painting

miniature applies to an exactly proportioned reproduction on a very small scale.

a dollhouse with miniature furnishings

Examples of little in a Sentence

Adjective

I have very little money, so I can't lend you any.

I have less money than I did before.

I got very little sleep last night.

There's little hope of a rescue now.

You have little choice but to pay attention.

The new version bears little resemblance to the original.

These programs have very little chance of succeeding.

These trinkets have little or no value.

We're having a little party this weekend.

a little group of people

Adverb

She works very little and sleeps even less.

Please speak as little as possible.

We had little more than we needed.

His art is little known in this country.

Noun

there's just a little of the pie left

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

The lizard was recently rediscovered in the wild, and Colossal’s set up a breeding and release colony with the Melbourne Zoo devoted to the fetching little reptile. —Allie Garfinkle, Fortune, 11 Apr. 2024

From a talent perspective, there’s little question Smith can play in the NHL. —Curtis Pashelka, The Mercury News, 11 Apr. 2024

Why Biden is getting little credit for the economy, especially in California. —Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2024

This little quirk is only one of many customs the 90-year-old event holds dear. —Betsy Cribb Watson, Southern Living, 11 Apr. 2024

Starring Ryan Reynolds, the film imagines a world where one little girl can see everyone else’s imaginary friends — and sets off to reunite the figments with their owners. —Matt Donnelly, Variety, 11 Apr. 2024

The couple has yet to reveal their little boy's name or date of birth. —Ilana Kaplan, Peoplemag, 10 Apr. 2024

The person Kennedy had chosen instead seemed to add little by way of stature or visibility for his bid. —Ron Elving, NPR, 30 Mar. 2024

The national party, along with the Biden campaign, has engaged very little with Williamson's candidacy, except in the very beginning when White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre jokingly dismissed her candidacy. —Isabella Murray, ABC News, 29 Mar. 2024

Adverb

Bill Collins, owner of Camp Bar on Robert Street, has purchased the art deco building, and as a Chicago native, plans to change very little. —Jess Fleming, Twin Cities, 4 Apr. 2024

Police have said very little publicly about the case, including what, if any, evidence has been found. —Kirsten Fiscus, USA TODAY, 4 Apr. 2024

However, there’s little more in the app of much interest, merely linking to webpages. —Jamie Carter, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024

An unconventional choice, Shanahan, who is 38, brings youth and considerable wealth to Kennedy's long-shot campaign but is little known outside Silicon Valley. —CBS News, 26 Mar. 2024

But if Saul has seemingly changed little over the years, the current Wen Chang bears the calculated quietude of someone who’s used to being watched. Connie (Nicole Tung), Manford’s cousin and primary adviser, is excited for his success but worried that his reckless ways will land him trouble. —Randy McMullen, The Mercury News, 23 Mar. 2024

Unfortunately, Russia’s looming manpower challenges in 2025 and beyond will matter very little if the brute-force tactics of Russian troops exhaust and overwhelm Ukrainian units in 2024. —Dara Massicot, Foreign Affairs, 8 Mar. 2024

In ancient Greece and Rome, people fared little better as some estimates place the expectancy range between 20 and 35 years. —Sean Mowbray, Discover Magazine, 7 Mar. 2024

The card and the polling process have changed little since the beginning and create a crowdsourcing alternative to critics’ opinions. —Richard Sandomir, New York Times, 18 Mar. 2024

Noun

The gentle formula is so beloved by parents that several Amazon reviewers copped to using it for themselves, not just the littles. —Macaela MacKenzie, Allure, 29 Dec. 2023

The 46 x 46-inch size is large enough to grow with kids into toddlerhood yet just the right size for adults to use with their littles in the rocking chair. —Maya Polton, Parents, 29 Mar. 2024

The Easter Bunny has been very busy hiding eggs all over Greater Cincinnati, so grab an Easter basket, bundle up the littles, and head out to one of these fun egg hunts. —Luann Gibbs, The Enquirer, 22 Mar. 2024

The Kansas City Democrat has grown tired of Congress saying a prayer for victims of gun violence – in Uvalde, in Buffalo, in Parkland, in Sandy Hook – while doing little to stop it. —Daniel Desrochers, Kansas City Star, 15 Feb. 2024

Each page features other littles performing the activities for your baby to copy. —Maya Polton, Parents, 8 Mar. 2024

Hills, creek, and wood bridges paired with the cooler temps found under the canopy make this a perfect spot to take the littles to get them out of the house. —Jen Guadarrama, The Indianapolis Star, 2 Mar. 2024

Now, thanks to Fisher-Price, moms obsessed with their Stanleys have the perfect lookalike cup for their littles too. —Emilee Coblentz, The Courier-Journal, 23 Feb. 2024

More often, the additional slots made room for small indie movies, giving worthy visibility to those films while doing little to spur the ceremony’s sagging viewership. —Michael Schulman, The New Yorker, 23 Jan. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Adjective, Adverb, and Noun

Middle English littel, from Old English lȳtel; akin to Old High German luzzil little

First Known Use

Adjective

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adverb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Pronoun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing little

• a little
• a big fish in a little pond
• a little goes a long way
• bear little relationship to/with
• dirty little secret
• have little/nothing to recommend him/her
• every little thing
• have little/nothing to recommend it
• a little something
• little better than
• let someone in on a (little) secret
• leave someone (with) no/little choice
• little bitty
• little brother/sister
• leave little to the imagination
• little if any
• little guy
• little magazine
• little leaf
• little man
• little brown bat
• little by little
• little finger
• little people
• little person
• little one
• little more than
• little theater
• little tunny
• meet with little success
• little wonder
• little woman
• makes little/no sense
• the little man
• the little guy
• of little avail
• put/have little faith in
• precious little
• place/put little credence in
• wrap (someone) around one's (little) finger
• to little/no effect
• the little woman
• too little, too late
• no little
• what little
• the little/small matter
• as little as
• live a little
• little bluestem
• very little love lost
• little slam
• little toe
• wired (a little) too tight/tightly
• little tuna
• in little
• more than a little

Kids Definition

little

1 of 3 adjective

lit·​tle ˈlit-ᵊl 

littler ˈlit-ᵊl-ər 

ˈlit-lər

or less ˈles  or lesser ˈles-ər  ; littlest ˈlit-ᵊl-əst 

ˈlit-ləst

or least ˈlēst 

1

a

: small in size

b

: young entry 1 sense 1a

was too little to remember

c

: small in comparison with related forms

little blue heron

d

: narrow entry 1 sense 3, mean

people with little minds

2

a

: small in quantity

there was little food to feed them

b

: short in duration

little time left

3

: small in importance

life's little problems

4

: being younger

my little brother

littleness

ˈlit-ᵊl-nəs 

noun

little

2 of 3 adverb

less ˈles  ; least ˈlēst 

1

: in a very small quantity or degree : slightly

had little more than we needed

a little known fact

2

: not very often

travels little

little

3 of 3 noun

1

: a small amount or quantity

2

: a short time or distance

Medical Definition

little

adjective

lit·​tle ˈlit-ᵊl 

littler ˈlit-ᵊl-ər, ˈlit-lər  or less ˈles  or lesser ˈles-ər  ; littlest ˈlit-ᵊl-əst, ˈlit-ləst  or least ˈlēst 

: not big: as

a

: small in size or extent

has little feet

b

of a plant or animal : small in comparison with related forms

—used in vernacular names