little

1 of 4

adjective

lit·​tle ˈli-tᵊl How to pronounce little (audio)
littler ˈli-tᵊl-ər How to pronounce little (audio)
ˈlit-lər
or less ˈles How to pronounce little (audio) or lesser ˈle-sər How to pronounce little (audio) ; littlest ˈli-tᵊl-əst How to pronounce little (audio)
ˈlit-ləst
or least ˈlēst How to pronounce little (audio)
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 noun

little

2 of 4

adverb

less ˈles How to pronounce little (audio) ; least ˈlēst How to pronounce little (audio)
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

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
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
Where the Bad News Is the Good News: Despite a recession, a shrinking population and politics tainted by corruption, Japan remains remarkably stable and cohesive, with little sense of impending doom or signs of societal discord. Kurt Soller Anu Kumar, New York Times, 18 Mar. 2024 Content creators will have little use for the S400’s power line fault-finding laser, although the drone’s ability to schlepp 3-kilogram payloads could come in handy, delivering emergency cans of Red Bull for heavy social media sessions. Carlton Reid, WIRED, 18 Mar. 2024 So far, there’s little evidence to support these concerns. Laura He, CNN, 18 Mar. 2024 His first term was launched with little preparation and no detailed transition plan. Doyle McManus, Los Angeles Times, 18 Mar. 2024 The Forest Service notes that this area offers little shade, and that the best times to go are in the spring or late fall. Maura Fox, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Mar. 2024 In Klimt’s other work of this era, little is straight and absolutely nothing is heavy, least of all when it’s coated in gold. Jackson Arn, The New Yorker, 18 Mar. 2024 Sleep deprivation can also impact our memory and cognition; studies have shown that driving on little sleep can be as dangerous as driving while intoxicated. TIME, 18 Mar. 2024 Every Time Pamela Anderson Went Makeup-Free Anderson has worn little to no makeup at events and photoshoots since attending the Isabel Marant Womenswear Spring/Summer 2024 show during Paris Fashion Week barefaced in September 2023. Ingrid Vasquez, Peoplemag, 7 Mar. 2024
Adverb
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 This was helped by the fact that my mother, who never volunteered intelligence of any kind, had given me very little from which to assemble my mental prototype of her. CBS News, 17 Mar. 2024 Global oil prices this week have remained little changed. Melvin Backman, Quartz, 14 Mar. 2024 Elsewhere in the region, South Korea’s Kospi gained 1.2%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng closed little changed. Laura He, CNN, 4 Mar. 2024 The history behind leap years may be little known, but even more curious are the various traditions and superstitions surrounding the day. Victoria Moorwood, The Enquirer, 29 Feb. 2024 Shares of Disney were little changed at $107.84 in extended trading. Lucas Shaw, Fortune, 27 Feb. 2024 But some technology company shares weakened, or stood little changed, such as Nvidia. Yuri Kageyama, Quartz, 26 Feb. 2024 Some view the claims of high-tech breakthroughs with skepticism, arguing that the grinding war of attrition is little affected by the deployment of AI tools. TIME, 8 Feb. 2024
Noun
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 Brittany Mahomes went with comfy mom jeans while toting around her littles. Hedy Phillips, Peoplemag, 9 Feb. 2024 Lots of warm layers, a warming hut and extra tailgate goodies are good to have when fishing with littles. Jordan Rodriguez, Idaho Statesman, 31 Jan. 2024 Here is a real-life example of it in action: One night a mother stayed up late watching a movie with her littles. Lia Miller, Essence, 25 Jan. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'little.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of little was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near little

Cite this Entry

“Little.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/little. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

little

1 of 3 adjective
lit·​tle ˈlit-ᵊl How to pronounce little (audio)
littler ˈlit-ᵊl-ər How to pronounce little (audio)
ˈlit-lər
or less ˈles How to pronounce little (audio) or lesser ˈles-ər How to pronounce little (audio) ; littlest ˈlit-ᵊl-əst How to pronounce little (audio)
ˈlit-ləst
or least ˈlēst How to pronounce little (audio)
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 noun

little

2 of 3 adverb
less ˈles How to pronounce little (audio) ; least ˈlēst How to pronounce little (audio)
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 How to pronounce little (audio)
: 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

More from Merriam-Webster on little

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!