smidgen

noun

smid·​gen ˈsmi-jən How to pronounce smidgen (audio)
variants or less commonly smidgeon or smidgin or smidge
: a small amount : bit
a smidgen of salt
a smidgen of common sense

Examples of smidgen in a Sentence

I'll just have a smidgen of ice cream. the maid cleaned the house until there wasn't even a smidgen of dust left
Recent Examples on the Web Grayson Allen's game-high 29 points and tying the Suns' franchise record nine 3s — again — gave their Footprint Center crowd smidgens of hope as the team fell into deeper holes during the game. Dana Scott, The Arizona Republic, 17 Jan. 2024 Perhaps a smidgen cooler than recent days but still rather warm for the time of year. Ian Livingston, Washington Post, 4 Oct. 2023 There’s a smidgen of that when being confronted by skeptics. Suzy Exposito, Los Angeles Times, 1 Nov. 2023 Not For Traditional Truckers Americans buy 2 million pickups a year for an average of $59,000 apiece, but, so far, only a smidgen are all-electric. Carlton Reid, WIRED, 1 Dec. 2023 And despite President Trump’s tariffs, the U.S. trade deficit in goods was a smidgen higher during his tenure (averaging 4.2% of GDP) than during President Obama’s last year in office (4%). WSJ, 30 Oct. 2023 Temperatures are down a smidgen, compared with today, or near 70 to the low 70s for highs. Ian Livingston, Washington Post, 12 Oct. 2023 Take a smidgen of hydrogen, then blast it with lasers to set off a small thermonuclear explosion. Kenneth Chang, New York Times, 13 Nov. 2023 Their Senate District 31 covers a swath of Loudoun and Fauquier counties that favored Youngkin by a 0.6 percent smidgen but went blue by 5.6 points in last year’s congressional races. Teo Armus, Washington Post, 3 Nov. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'smidgen.' 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

probably alteration of English dialect smitch soiling mark

First Known Use

1845, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of smidgen was in 1845

Dictionary Entries Near smidgen

Cite this Entry

“Smidgen.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/smidgen. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

smidgen

noun
smid·​gen
variants also smidgeon or smidgin
ˈsmij-ən
or smidge
: a small amount : bit
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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