Little — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

adjective adverb pronoun noun /ˈli-tᵊl/ lit·tle

Meaning & Definition of Little

Little (adjective)

  1. not big
  2. small in size or extent, tiny
  3. young

Little (adverb)

  1. in only a small quantity or degree, slightly
  2. not at all
  3. rarely, infrequently

Little (pronoun)

  1. not much, almost nothing

Little (noun)

  1. a small amount or quantity
  2. a short time or distance
  3. a young child, little one

Little (adjective) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. having relatively little height

    "there was a little hedge separating the two lawns"

    similar: low, low-lying, low-slung, sawed-off, short
    related: dwarf, dwarfish, compact, petite, slight, diminutive, half-pint, pint-size, pocket, pocket-size, pygmy, small, smallish, bantam, bitty, dinky, mini, miniature, minimized, minute, puny, teeny, teeny-weeny, tiny, undersized, wee, dumpy, flat, scrubby, squat, squatty, stubby, stumpy, stunted
    opposite: altitudinous, high, lofty, tall, towering
    near: elevated, lifted, raised, uplifted, upswept, high-rise, statuesque, gangling, gangly, lanky, rangy, big, bulky, hefty, hulking, large, largish, outsize, oversize, sizable, voluminous

  2. lacking importance

    "there were just a few little details left to take care of"

    similar: fiddling, foolish, frivolous, incidental, inconsequential, inconsiderable, insignificant, Mickey Mouse, minor, minute, negligible, nugatory, slight, small, small-fry, trifling, trivial, unimportant, neither here nor there
    related: jerkwater, one-horse, nickel-and-dime, paltry, petty, small-time, worthless, anonymous, nameless, obscure, uncelebrated, unknown
    opposite: big, consequential, eventful, important, major, material, meaningful, momentous, significant, substantial, unfrivolous, weighty
    near: decisive, fatal, fateful, chief, dominant, overbearing, overmastering, overriding, principal, distinctive, exceptional, impressive, outstanding, prominent, remarkable, valuable, worthwhile, worthy, distinguished, eminent, great, illustrious, preeminent, prestigious, famous, notorious, renowned, all-important, basic, essential, fundamental, key

  3. not broad or open in views or opinions

    "little-minded people who dislike the fact that human society is always progressing"

    similar: illiberal, insular, Lilliputian, narrow, narrow-minded, parochial, petty, picayune, provincial, sectarian, small, small-minded
    related: inflexible, ironbound, obdurate, obstinate, rigid, set, stubborn, unyielding, wrongheaded, bigoted, intolerant, biased, discriminating, discriminatory, jaundiced, one-sided, partial, partisan, prejudiced, brassbound, hidebound, old-fashioned, reactionary, stodgy, straitlaced, stuffy, dogmatic, opinionated, opinionative, limited, hick, unsophisticated
    opposite: broad-minded, catholic, cosmopolitan, liberal, open, open-minded, receptive, tolerant
    near: impartial, nonpartisan, objective, unbiased, unprejudiced, freethinking

  4. not lasting for a considerable time

    "let's take a little pause to relax"

    similar: brief, fast, short
    related: shortish, abbreviated, abridged, curtailed, cut-back, shortened, syncopated, compact, condensed, abrupt, sudden, ephemeral, fleeting, momentary, short-lived, transient, transitory, impermanent, compendious, concise, crisp, epigrammatic, laconic, pithy, succinct, summary, terse, short-range, short-term
    opposite: extended, far, great, lengthy, long, long-drawn-out, long-lived
    near: endless, everlasting, interminable, persistent, unending, longish, overlong, prolonged, protracted, permanent, enlarged, expanded, supplemented, long-range, long-term

  5. of a size that is less than average

    "the petting zoo has a little horse in addition to all of the goats and sheep"

    similar: bantam, diminutive, dinky, dwarfish, fine, half-pint, Lilliputian, pint-size, pocket, pocket-size, puny, pygmy, shrimpy, slight, small, smallish, subnormal, toylike, undersized
    related: dwarf, toy, runtish, runty, scrubby, stunted, bitty, inappreciable, infinitesimal, little bitty, micro, microscopic, mini, miniature, miniaturized, minikin, minim, minuscule, minute, pinpoint, teensy, teensy-weensy, teeny, teeny-weeny, tiny, wee, weeny, meager, poor, scant, scanty, scarce, skimp, skimpy, slender, slim, spare, sparse, stingy, deficient, inadequate, insufficient, lacking, wanting, bite-size, capsule
    opposite: big, biggish, considerable, goodly, grand, great, handsome, husky, king-size, large, largish, outsize, overscale, oversize, sizable, substantial, tidy, whacking, whopping
    near: bulky, hefty, hulking, massive, voluminous, boxcar, Brobdingnagian, Bunyanesque, cavernous, colossal, cyclopean, elephantine, enormous, galactic, gargantuan, giant, gigantic, gross, Himalayan, herculean, heroic, huge, humongous, immense, jumbo, leviathan, mammoth, monolithic, monstrous, monumental, mountainous, pharaonic, prodigious, staggering, stupendous, titanic, tremendous, vast, abundant, ample, appreciable, bountiful, copious, generous, healthy, liberal, plenteous, plentiful, fat, thick, broad, wide, boundless, cosmic, immeasurable, incalculable, infinite, adequate, enough, sufficient

Little (adverb) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. in a very small quantity or degree

    "we had little more than we needed to survive in the wilderness"

    similar: negligibly, nominally, slightly, a bit, a trifle
    related: meagerly, scantily, barely, hardly, just, marginally, minimally, scarcely
    opposite: awful, awfully, beastly, considerably, deadly, especially, exceedingly, extensively, extra, extremely, far, frightfully, full, greatly, heavily, highly, jolly, mightily, mighty, mortally, most, much, particularly, rattling, real, right, significantly, so, something, substantially, super, terribly, too, very, whacking
    near: completely, entirely, purely, thoroughly, totally, utterly, eminently, exceptionally, appreciably, discernibly, noticeably, palpably, abundantly, plentifully, generously, handsomely, liberally, astronomically, grandly, hugely, monstrously, monumentally

  2. not often

    "he's been studying very little for the bar exam"

    similar: infrequently, rarely, seldom, once in a blue moon
    related: ne'er, never, episodically, irregularly, now and then, occasionally, sometimes, sporadically
    opposite: frequently, oft, often, oftentimes
    near: customarily, generally, habitually, ordinarily, routinely, usually, always, constantly, continually, continuously, endlessly, eternally, ever, everlastingly, evermore, forever, invariably, perennially, perpetually, unceasingly, chronically, recurrently, repeatedly

Little (noun) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. a very small amount

    "there's just a little of the pie left"

    similar: ace, bit, crumb, dab, dram, driblet, glimmer, hint, lick, mite, nip, ounce, particle, peanuts, ray, scintilla, scruple, shade, shadow, shred, skosh, smack, smell, smidgen, snap, soupçon, spark, spatter, speck, splash, spot, sprinkling, strain, streak, suspicion, tad, touch, trace, drop in the bucket
    related: hoot, iota, jot, minim, minimum, modicum, semblance, syllable, tittle, vestige, whit, atom, dot, fleck, flyspeck, grain, granule, molecule, morsel, mote, nubbin, patch, scrap, dash, drop, pinch, part, portion, section, bite, nibble, taste, handful, scattering, smatter, smattering, dose, shot, chip, flake, fragment, shard, shiver, sliver, smithereens, splinter, tatter, clipping, paring, shaving
    near: abundance, barrel, boatload, bucket, bundle, bushel, deal, fistful, gobs, heaps, lashings (chiefly British), loads, lot, mass, mess, mountain, much, oodles, passel, peck, pile, plenty, potful, profusion, quantity, raft, reams, scads, stack, wad, wealth, volume, bonanza, embarrassment, excess, overabundance, overage, overflow, overkill, overmuch, oversupply, superabundance, superfluity, surfeit, surplus, chunk, hunk, lump, slab

Related Entry: Little bitty (adjective)

Little bitty is a different word from Little. The synonyms below are for little bitty, not for little.

  1. very small in size

    "all that was left when I finally got to the dessert table was one little bitty piece of pie"

    similar: atomic, bitsy, bitty, infinitesimal, itty-bitty, microminiature, microscopic, miniature, minuscule, minute, teensy, teensy-weensy, teeny, teeny-weeny, tiny, wee, weeny
    related: baby, diminutive, dwarf, elfin, half-pint, Lilliputian, little, micro, mini, minikin, model, petite, pocket, pocket-size, pygmy, small, smallish, dinky, dwarfish, insignificant, pint-size, puny, scrubby, undersized
    opposite: astronomical, colossal, cosmic, elephantine, enormous, giant, gigantic, herculean, heroic, huge, immense, mammoth, massive, monster, monstrous, monumental, mountainous, planetary, prodigious, titanic, tremendous
    near: big, bulky, bumper, considerable, extensive, good, goodly, grand, great, gross, handsome, hefty, hulking, jumbo, king-size, large, largish, major, outsize, overgrown, overscale, oversize, sizable, substantial, super, whacking, whopping, formidable, grandiose, imposing, lofty, majestic, monolithic, staggering, stupendous, towering, boundless, cavernous, immeasurable, infinite, vast, vasty, voluminous

Related Entry: Little by little (adverb)

Little by little is a different word from Little. The synonyms below are for little by little, not for little.

  1. by small steps or amounts

    "little by little, we pieced together the jigsaw puzzle"

    similar: gradationally, gradually, inchmeal, piece by piece, piecemeal, bit by bit, by degrees, inch by inch
    related: hierarchically, crescively, increasingly, progressively, fractionally, imperceptibly, slowly
    opposite: abruptly, suddenly
    near: acutely, sharply, steeply, hastily, precipitously

Related Entry: Little guy (noun)

Little guy is a different word from Little. The synonyms below are for little guy, not for little.

  1. an average or ordinary man

    "for a politician who likes to portray himself as a friend of the little guy, he sure is fond of rubbing elbows with the fat cats"

    similar: everyman, Joe Blow, Joe Six-Pack, John Doe, little man, lug, slob, man in the street
    related: commoner, pleb, plebeian, prole, proletarian, everywoman, plain Jane, laborer, peon, worker
    near: big cheese, big shot, big wheel, bigwig, fat cat, mover and shaker, VIP

Related Entry: Little man (noun)

Little man is a different word from Little. The synonyms below are for little man, not for little.

  1. an average or ordinary man

    "claims that the wind farm would benefit only its developers and that the little man would get nothing out of it"

    similar: everyman, Joe Blow, Joe Six-Pack, John Doe, little guy, lug, slob, man in the street
    related: commoner, pleb, plebeian, prole, proletarian, everywoman, plain Jane, laborer, peon, worker
    near: big cheese, big shot, big wheel, bigwig, fat cat, mover and shaker, VIP

Related Entry: Little magazine (noun)

Little magazine is a different word from Little. The synonyms below are for little magazine, not for little.

  1. as in digest

    similar: digest, annual, bimonthly, biweekly, daily, monthly, quarterly, semimonthly, semiweekly, triweekly, weekly, yearbook, fanzine, book, bulletin, diurnal, gazette, journal, mag, magazine, newspaper, organ, paper, periodical, rag, review, serial, zine, pictorial, slick, broadside, edition, extra, sheet, supplement, tab, tabloid, newsletter, newsmagazine, newsweekly

Related Entry: Little magazines (noun)

Little magazines is a different word from Little. The synonyms below are for little magazines, not for little.

  1. as in digests

    similar: digests, annuals, bimonthlies, biweeklies, dailies, monthlies, quarterlies, semimonthlies, semiweeklies, triweeklies, weeklies, yearbooks, fanzines, books, bulletins, diurnals, gazettes, journals, magazines, mags, newspapers, organs, papers, periodicals, rags, reviews, serials, zines, pictorials, slicks, broadsides, editions, extras, sheets, supplements, tabloids, tabs, newsletters, newsmagazines, newsweeklies

Related Entry: Little people (noun)

Little people is a different word from Little. The synonyms below are for little people, not for little.

  1. as in troll, elf

    similar: brownie, dwarf, elf, faerie, fairy, fay, gnome, goblin, gremlin, hobgoblin, kobold, leprechaun, pixie, puck, sprite, troll, banshee, ghoul, hag, ogre, imp, kelpie, nixie, changeling

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Little

The most common words with a similar meaning to Little:

low, low-lying, low-slung, sawed-off, short, fiddling, foolish, frivolous, incidental, inconsequential, inconsiderable, insignificant, Mickey Mouse, minor, minute, negligible, nugatory, slight, small, small-fry, trifling, trivial, unimportant, illiberal, insular, Lilliputian, narrow, narrow-minded, parochial, petty, picayune, provincial, sectarian, small-minded, brief, fast, bantam, diminutive, dinky, dwarfish

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Little

Words with the opposite meaning of Little:

altitudinous, high, lofty, tall, towering, big, consequential, eventful, important, major, material, meaningful, momentous, significant, substantial, unfrivolous, weighty, broad-minded, catholic, cosmopolitan, liberal, open, open-minded, receptive, tolerant, extended, far, great, lengthy, long

Related Words for Little

dwarf, compact, petite, bitty, mini, miniature, minimized, teeny, teeny-weeny, tiny, wee, dumpy, flat, scrubby, squat, squatty, stubby, stumpy, stunted, jerkwater, one-horse, nickel-and-dime, paltry, small-time, worthless, anonymous, nameless, obscure, uncelebrated, unknown

Near Antonyms of Little

elevated, lifted, raised, uplifted, upswept, high-rise, statuesque, gangling, gangly, lanky, rangy, bulky, hefty, hulking, voluminous, decisive, fatal, fateful, chief, dominant, overbearing, overmastering, overriding, principal, distinctive, exceptional, impressive, outstanding, prominent, remarkable

Word Forms of Little

Inflections: littler, less, lesser, littlest, least, littles

Derived words: littleness (noun)

Origin & Etymology of Little

Middle English littel, from Old English lȳtel; akin to Old High German luzzil little

First known use: before 12th century

Vocabulary Lists & Topics for Little

Words & Phrases Containing Little

Little Bear, little bitty, little bluestem, little brown bat, little by little, Little Dipper

Frequently Asked Questions about Little

What does "Little" mean?

"Little" means not big. As an an adjective, an adverb, a pronoun and a noun, it is defined as: not big. It has 8 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Little"?

Other words for "Little" include low, low-lying, low-slung, sawed-off, short, fiddling, foolish and frivolous. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Little" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Little"?

There are 291 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Little". Common alternatives include low, low-lying, low-slung, sawed-off, short, fiddling, foolish, frivolous, incidental and inconsequential.

What is the opposite of "Little"?

Antonyms of "Little" include altitudinous, high, lofty, tall, towering, big, consequential and eventful. Near antonyms include elevated, lifted, raised and uplifted.

How do you use "Little" in a sentence?

Examples of "Little" in a sentence: "there was a little hedge separating the two lawns"; "there were just a few little details left to take care of"; "little-minded people who dislike the fact that human society is always progressing".

Is "Little" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Little" can be used as an adjective, an adverb, a pronoun and a noun, depending on the context.

Is "Little" useful for IELTS, TOEFL, and other English exams?

As an A1-level word, "Little" is typical of Cambridge A1 Movers (Young Learners), TOEIC Listening & Reading 120+.

How do you pronounce "Little"?

"Little" is pronounced /ˈli-tᵊl/ and divided into syllables as lit·tle.