Small — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

adjective adverb noun /ˈsmȯl/

Meaning & Definition of Small

Small (adjective)

  1. having comparatively little size or slight dimensions
  2. lowercase
  3. minor in influence, power, or rank

Small (adverb)

  1. in or into small pieces
  2. without force or loudness
  3. in a small manner

Small (noun)

  1. a part smaller and especially narrower than the remainder
  2. small-sized products
  3. smallclothes; especially, underwear

Small (adjective) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. of a size that is less than average

    "a small cat who never weighed more than five pounds"

    similar: bantam, diminutive, dinky, dwarfish, fine, half-pint, Lilliputian, little, pint-size, pocket, pocket-size, puny, pygmy, shrimpy, slight, 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

  2. small in degree

    "your chances of winning the lottery are so small that it's best not to count on it"

    similar: fragile, frail, negligible, off, outside, remote, slight, slim
    related: marginal, minimal, minor, little, tiny
    opposite: good
    near: great, large, distinct, significant, considerable, goodly, healthy, largish, respectable, sizable, substantial, tidy

  3. lacking importance

    "reluctant to bring such a small matter to the boss's attention"

    similar: fiddling, foolish, frivolous, incidental, inconsequential, inconsiderable, insignificant, little, Mickey Mouse, minor, minute, negligible, nugatory, slight, 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

  4. not broad or open in views or opinions

    "townspeople who were helpful to one another but who also could be small and intolerant"

    similar: illiberal, insular, Lilliputian, little, narrow, narrow-minded, parochial, petty, picayune, provincial, sectarian, 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

Related Entry: Small arm (noun)

Small arm is a different word from Small. The synonyms below are for small arm, not for small.

  1. a portable weapon from which a shot is discharged by gunpowder

    "the soldiers keep their small arms securely in their holsters when not on patrol"

    similar: arm, firearm, gun, heat (slang), piece
    related: derringer, forty-five, gat (slang), handgun, pistol, revolver, rod (slang), roscoe (slang), sidearm, six-gun, six-shooter, zip gun, self-loader, semiautomatic, blunderbuss, breechloader, culverin, fieldpiece, firelock, flintlock, harquebus, matchlock, musket, rifle, shotgun, smoothbore, twenty-two, AK-47, assault rifle, assault weapon, automatic, carbine, machine gun, machine pistol, repeater, submachine gun, tommy gun, speargun

Related Entry: Small beer (noun)

Small beer is a different word from Small. The synonyms below are for small beer, not for small.

  1. something of little importance

    "the money we spend on cable is small beer compared to the mortgage payment we have to come up with every month"

    similar: bagatelle, child's play, frippery, nonproblem, nothing, picayune, shuck(s), small change, trifle, triviality
    related: naught, nothingness, smoke, zero, peanuts, pittance, song, straw, two bits, bunk, claptrap, drivel, folly, fribble, fudge, hogwash, humbug, humbuggery, nonsense, piffle, rot, trash, trivia, bit, crumb, dab, dram, lick, mite, ounce, particle, pinhead, scintilla, shred, smidgen, soupçon, speck, spot, tad, touch, trace

Related Entry: Small change (noun)

Small change is a different word from Small. The synonyms below are for small change, not for small.

  1. something of little importance

    "he rightfully dismissed his woes as small change compared to the life-threatening problems faced by others"

    similar: bagatelle, child's play, frippery, nonproblem, nothing, picayune, shuck(s), small beer, trifle, triviality
    related: naught, nothingness, smoke, zero, peanuts, pittance, song, straw, two bits, bunk, claptrap, drivel, folly, fribble, fudge, hogwash, humbug, humbuggery, nonsense, piffle, rot, trash, trivia, bit, crumb, dab, dram, lick, mite, ounce, particle, pinhead, scintilla, shred, smidgen, soupçon, speck, spot, tad, touch, trace

Related Entry: Small-fry (adjective)

Small-fry is a different word from Small. The synonyms below are for small-fry, not for small.

  1. lacking importance

    "some small-fry official in the state government with a big-time ego"

    similar: fiddling, foolish, frivolous, incidental, inconsequential, inconsiderable, insignificant, little, Mickey Mouse, minor, minute, negligible, nugatory, slight, small, 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

Related Entry: Small-minded (adjective)

Small-minded is a different word from Small. The synonyms below are for small-minded, not for small.

  1. unwilling to grant other people social rights or to accept other viewpoints

    "a small-minded man only concerned with his own well-being"

    similar: bigoted, illiberal, intolerant, narrow, narrow-minded, prejudiced
    related: hidebound, old-fashioned, reactionary, blindfolded, blinkered, insular, parochial, provincial, biased, one-sided, partial, partisan
    opposite: broad-minded, liberal, open-minded, tolerant, unprejudiced
    near: extreme, progressive, radical, impartial, objective, unbiased

  2. not broad or open in views or opinions

    "resented the small-minded people who automatically opposed every new idea"

    similar: illiberal, insular, Lilliputian, little, narrow, narrow-minded, parochial, petty, picayune, provincial, sectarian, small
    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

Related Entry: Small-mindedness (noun)

Small-mindedness is a different word from Small. The synonyms below are for small-mindedness, not for small.

  1. stubborn or intolerant adherence to one's opinions or prejudices

    "the small-mindedness of her parents would never allow them to accept a son-in-law of a different religion"

    similar: bigotry, dogmatism, illiberalism, illiberality, illiberalness, intolerance, intolerantness, narrow-mindedness, opinionatedness, partisanship, sectarianism
    related: insularism, insularity, parochialism, provincialism, bias, partiality, prejudice
    opposite: broad-mindedness, liberalism, liberality, open-mindedness, tolerance
    near: progressiveness, progressivism

Related Entry: Small talk (noun)

Small talk is a different word from Small. The synonyms below are for small talk, not for small.

  1. friendly, informal conversation or an instance of this

    "at the corporate get-together we made the obligatory small talk with some people from the home office"

    similar: backchat, cackle, causerie, chat, chatter, chin music, chin-wag (slang), chitchat, confab, confabulation, gab, gabfest, gossip, jangle, jaw, natter (chiefly British), palaver, patter, rap, schmooze, table talk, talk, tête-à-tête
    related: colloquy, conference, discourse, parley, symposium, debate, dialogue, exchange, give-and-take, cross talk, happy talk, yak, yammer, yap

Related Entry: Small-time (adjective)

Small-time is a different word from Small. The synonyms below are for small-time, not for small.

  1. as in petty, worthless

    similar: nickel-and-dime, paltry, petty, worthless, jerkwater, one-horse, anonymous, nameless, obscure, uncelebrated, unknown, fiddling, foolish, frivolous, incidental, inconsequential, inconsiderable, insignificant, little, Mickey Mouse, minor, minute, negligible, nugatory, slight, small, small-fry, trifling, trivial, unimportant
    opposite: big, consequential, eventful, important, major, material, meaningful, momentous, significant, substantial, unfrivolous, weighty, 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

Related Entry: Small-timer (noun)

Small-timer is a different word from Small. The synonyms below are for small-timer, not for small.

  1. as in lightweight, half-pint

    similar: half-pint, lightweight, inferior, subordinate, underling, nobody, nothing, zero
    opposite: baron, captain, czar, king, lion, lord, magnate, mogul, monarch, Napoleon, prince, tycoon, big boy, big cheese, bigfoot, biggie, big gun, big shot, big wheel, bigwig, fat cat, figure, heavy, heavyweight, honcho, kahuna, main man, mover and shaker, nabob, nawab, notable, personage, pooh-bah, supremo (chiefly British), VIP, celebrity, personality, star, superstar

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Small

The most common words with a similar meaning to Small:

bantam, diminutive, dinky, dwarfish, fine, half-pint, Lilliputian, little, pint-size, pocket, pocket-size, puny, pygmy, shrimpy, slight, smallish, subnormal, toylike, undersized, fragile, frail, negligible, off, outside, remote, slim, fiddling, foolish, frivolous, incidental, inconsequential, inconsiderable, insignificant, Mickey Mouse, minor, minute, nugatory, small-fry, trifling, trivial

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Small

Words with the opposite meaning of Small:

big, biggish, considerable, goodly, grand, great, handsome, husky, king-size, large, largish, outsize, overscale, oversize, sizable, substantial, tidy, whacking, whopping, good, consequential, eventful, important, major, material, meaningful, momentous, significant, unfrivolous, weighty

Related Words for Small

dwarf, toy, runtish, runty, scrubby, stunted, bitty, inappreciable, infinitesimal, little bitty, micro, microscopic, mini, miniature, miniaturized, minikin, minim, minuscule, pinpoint, teensy, teensy-weensy, teeny, teeny-weeny, tiny, wee, weeny, meager, poor, scant, scanty

Near Antonyms of Small

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

Word Forms of Small

Derived words: smallish (adjective), smallness (noun)

Origin & Etymology of Small

Middle English smal, from Old English smæl; akin to Old High German smal small, Greek mēlon small domestic animal

First known use: before 12th century

Vocabulary Lists & Topics for Small

Words & Phrases Containing Small

small arm, small ball, small beer, small-bore, small calorie, small capital, small-cell lung cancer

Frequently Asked Questions about Small

What does "Small" mean?

"Small" means having comparatively little size or slight dimensions. As an an adjective, an adverb and a noun, it is defined as: having comparatively little size or slight dimensions. It has 4 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Small"?

Other words for "Small" include bantam, diminutive, dinky, dwarfish, fine, half-pint, Lilliputian and little. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Small" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Small"?

There are 141 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Small". Common alternatives include bantam, diminutive, dinky, dwarfish, fine, half-pint, Lilliputian, little, pint-size and pocket.

What is the opposite of "Small"?

Antonyms of "Small" include big, biggish, considerable, goodly, grand, great, handsome and husky. Near antonyms include bulky, hefty, hulking and massive.

How do you use "Small" in a sentence?

Examples of "Small" in a sentence: "a small cat who never weighed more than five pounds"; "your chances of winning the lottery are so small that it's best not to count on it"; "reluctant to bring such a small matter to the boss's attention".

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

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

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

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

How do you pronounce "Small"?

"Small" is pronounced /ˈsmȯl/.