modicum

noun

mo·​di·​cum ˈmä-di-kəm 

 also  ˈmō-

: a small portion : a limited quantity

had only a modicum of mathematical skills

Did you know?

The Origins of Modicum Can Be Found in the Bathroom

It wouldn’t be wrong to say that the English language has more than a modicum of words referring to a small amount of something—it has oodles, from smidgen to soupçon. But while modicum can be applied to countable or physical things (like words or salt) it is almost always applied instead to abstract concepts like respect, success, control, hope, dignity, or privacy. Modicum traces back to the Latin noun modus, meaning “measure,” which just so happens to be the ancestor of more than a modicum of English words, from moderate and modify to mold and commode.

Synonyms

• beans
• bubkes
• bupkes
• bupkus
• continental
• damn
• darn
• durn
• diddly [slang]
• diddly-squat [slang]
• doodley-squat
• doodly-squat
• fig
• ghost
• hoot
• iota
• jot
• lick
• rap
• squat [slang]
• syllable
• tittle
• whit
• whoop

Examples of modicum in a Sentence

only a modicum of skill is necessary to put the kit together

Recent Examples on the Web

His background and experience from Trump’s first term gives him a modicum of credibility, and his current lowkey efforts to reintroduce process discipline and clarity into the frenetic tariff policy whiplash deserves recognition. —Dewardric L. McNeal, CNBC, 6 Apr. 2025

But there has to be a modicum of concern about inconsistent swing-and-miss stuff. —Matt Gelb, New York Times, 15 May 2025

Up until this point, some modicum of residual familiarity, related to the East Coast — not topography but scale — had remained with me. —Andrew Moore, New York Times, 15 May 2025

Where the Season 2 finale imbued its important action scenes with a modicum of whimsy, last night’s episode presented little by way of humor, stylistic finesse, or emotional release. —Hannah Giorgis, The Atlantic, 7 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Latin, neuter of modicus moderate, from modus measure

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

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Kids Definition

modicum

noun

mo·​di·​cum ˈmäd-i-kəm 

ˈmōd-

: a small amount

anyone with a modicum of intelligence would understand