pittance

noun pit·tance \ ˈpi-tᵊn(t)s \

|Updated on: 9 Jul 2018

Examples: pittance in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of pittance

: a small portion, amount, or allowance; also : a meager wage or remuneration

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Examples of pittance in a Sentence

the internship offers only a pittance for a salary, but it is a great opportunity to gain experience

Recent Examples of pittance from the Web

As of May 15, Massie had $18,006 in his campaign account — a pittance for any candidate attempting to mount a respectable showing at the June 2 convention and in the Sept. 4 primary.

— BostonGlobe.com, "Massie campaign loses communications chief," 24 May 2018
Killing these deeply known cast members is the number one source of experience points in Vampyr; killing nameless fodder enemies and even completing quests deliver a pittance by comparison.

— steven strom, Ars Technica, "Vampyr review: Dead in the daylight," 6 June 2018
Taking his inspiration from Whitman's journals, Acouin imagines the poet's humanitarian mindfulness as a kind of Dante-esque descent into a hellish morass of suffering where there can only be a pittance of healing.

— mark swed, latimes.com, "Walt Whitman's operatic America in 'Crossing' gets its West Coast premiere," 27 May 2018
Since 2014, as the Washington Post recently noted, the Big East has produced just two one-and-done players – a pittance compared to the ACC (15), the Pac-12 (12), the SEC (11), or the Big 12 (seven) and half as many as the Big Ten (four).

— mike sielski, Philly.com, "The greatness of Villanova and Jay Wright has elevated the new Big East, and the new Big East has elevated them | Mike Sielski," 5 Apr. 2018
That fee might be a pittance for a very wealthy person — regardless of what Trump’s net worth actually is, $130,000 probably didn’t make much of a dent in it.

— anna north, Vox, "Donald Trump just tweeted out the rich man’s guide to buying women’s silence," 3 May 2018
The risk is that even if delivers several good NFL seasons, Barkley won’t return very good value due to the economics of the draft and the ability to find running backs who perform well for a pittance (See, Patriots and Eagles).

— tom krasovic, sandiegouniontribune.com, "As NFL Draft Night looms, several thoughts and a pundit's jab at ex-SDSU star," 26 Apr. 2018
To me, the total is a pittance and shows that the party formerly known as the Republican Party is now just another component of the swamp.

— WSJ, "Your Spending Reprieve Misses the Debt Big Picture," 20 Apr. 2018
On the other hand, Armstrong got out this mess for a relative pittance.

— bill gifford, Outside Online, "Op-Ed: Did Armstrong Just Crush the U.S. Government?," 20 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'pittance.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

It's a pity when you haven't anything but a pittance. And in fact, "pity" and "pittance" share etymological roots. The Middle English word pittance came from Anglo-French pitance, meaning "pity" or "piety." Originally, a "pittance" was a gift or bequest to a religious community, or a small charitable gift. Ultimately, the word comes from the Latin pietas, meaning "piety" or "compassion." Our words "pity" and "piety" come from "pietas" as well.

Origin and Etymology of pittance

Middle English pitance, from Anglo-French, piety, pity, dole, portion, from Medieval Latin pietantia, from pietant-, pietans, present participle of pietari to be charitable, from Latin pietas piety — more at pity

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First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined above

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