modicum
noun
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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.
Examples of modicum in a Sentence
Sam Stone, Bon Appetit Magazine, 15 Aug. 2025
Hill Road was the race’s longshot at 18-1, and provided a modicum of fun for players who held the $20.20 trifecta (on a $2 bet).
—Guy Martin, Forbes.com, 27 July 2025
The news of emancipation culminated a generations-long struggle for Black people to obtain a modicum of freedom in the U.S.
For this reason, some refer to Juneteenth as the nation’s second Independence Day.
—Timothy Welbeck, The Conversation, 16 June 2025
The hard lesson of life that most Americans with even a modicum of privilege will never learn.
—Andy Andersen, Vulture, 6 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for modicum
Cite this Entry
“Modicum.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/modicum. Accessed 26 Aug. 2025.
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modicum
noun
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