as in diminutive
something (such as an animal) much smaller than others of its kind
one kitten was definitely the runt, weighing only six ounces at birth
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Recent Examples of runt
Imagine a second straight year of Bama righting the season by beating Georgia — and then immediately losing to the SEC's longtime runt.
—
Jason Kirk, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
The first rescue comes just hours after his birth, when a justice-minded little girl named Fern Arable (Natalie Chan) intervenes to keep her farmer dad (a rather stiff Tom Everett Scott) from killing the runt he figures will never amount to anything.
—Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 1 Oct. 2025
Jason Kirk, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2025
The first rescue comes just hours after his birth, when a justice-minded little girl named Fern Arable (Natalie Chan) intervenes to keep her farmer dad (a rather stiff Tom Everett Scott) from killing the runt he figures will never amount to anything.
—Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 1 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for runt
Noun
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Meaning: The name Indie can be a diminutive of the names India (country southern Asia) or Indiana (state in midwestern U.S.).—
Ryan Brennan,
Kansas City Star,
4 Feb. 2025
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Residing on hillside slopes and gently rolling valleys surrounding the stately medieval village of Montalcino, vineyards in the Brunello di Montalcino DOCG are home to a clone of Sangiovese known locally as Brunello, which is a diminutive of the Italian word for brown.—
Mike DeSimone and Jeff Jenssen,
Robb Report,
3 Feb. 2025
Noun
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The mountains on either side of the water give way to towering canyon walls, spruce and pine thin out, and only stout dwarf willow and spindly alder remain.—
Chloe Berge,
AFAR Media,
15 Oct. 2025
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For instance, dwarf and semi-dwarf trees may live for 15 to 25 years, whereas standard apple trees can easily live for over 50 years.—
Clarence Schmidt,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
15 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Runt.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/runt. Accessed 24 Oct. 2025.
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