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

As a result, even in the absence of a hegemon, countries may seek collective institutions to pool their power, build a bulwark against instability, and capture the mutual gains that occur when a modicum of cooperation is achieved. —Ngaire Woods, Foreign Affairs, 22 Apr. 2025

Beginning in 2019, Google embarked on an effort under the Privacy Sandbox banner aimed at developing a new way to target ads that could preserve a modicum of user privacy. —ArsTechnica, 22 Apr. 2025

That should give the Atlanta Braves at least a modicum of hope. —Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 7 Apr. 2025

Trump, in his first term, expressed a modicum of admiration while visiting what is affectionately called the Black Smithsonian. —David Remnick, New Yorker, 6 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