Definitions for little
ˈlɪt llit·tle

Princeton's WordNet(2.75 / 4 votes)Rate this definition:

1. littleadjective

   a small amount or duration

   "he accepted the little they gave him"

2. small, littleadjective

   limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent

   "a little dining room"; "a little house"; "a small car"; "a little (or small) group"

3. little(a), slightadjective

   (quantifier used with mass nouns) small in quantity or degree; not much or almost none or (with `a') at least some

   "little rain fell in May"; "gave it little thought"; "little time is left"; "we still have little money"; "a little hope remained"; "there's slight chance that it will work"; "there's a slight chance it will work"

4. little, smalladjective

   (of children and animals) young, immature

   "what a big little boy you are"; "small children"

5. fiddling, footling, lilliputian, little, niggling, piddling, piffling, petty, picayune, trivialadjective

   (informal) small and of little importance

   "a fiddling sum of money"; "a footling gesture"; "our worries are lilliputian compared with those of countries that are at war"; "a little (or small) matter"; "a dispute over niggling details"; "limited to petty enterprises"; "piffling efforts"; "giving a police officer a free meal may be against the law, but it seems to be a picayune infraction"

6. little, smalladjective

   (of a voice) faint

   "a little voice"; "a still small voice"

7. short, littleadjective

   low in stature; not tall

   "he was short and stocky"; "short in stature"; "a short smokestack"; "a little man"

8. little, minuscule, smalladjective

   lowercase

   "little a"; "small a"; "e.e.cummings's poetry is written all in minuscule letters"

9. littleadverb

   small in a way that arouses feelings (of tenderness or its opposite depending on the context)

   "a nice little job"; "bless your little heart"; "my dear little mother"; "a sweet little deal"; "I'm tired of your petty little schemes"; "filthy little tricks"; "what a nasty little situation"

10. littleadverb

    not much

    "he talked little about his family"

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. littleadverb

   Not much.

2. littleadverb

   Not much, only a little: only a small amount (of).

3. littleadjective

   Small in size.

   This is a little table.

4. littleadjective

   Insignificant, trivial.

   It's of little importance.

5. littleadjective

   Very young.

6. littleadjective

   Younger.

   This is my little sister.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. LITTLEadjective

   comp. less, superlat. least;

   Etymology: leitels, Gothick; lytel , Saxon.

   1. Small in quantity.

   The coast of Dan went out too little for them. Josh. xix.

   2. Not great; small; diminutive; of small bulk.

   He sought to see Jesus, but could not for the press, because he was little of stature. Luke xix. 3.

   His son, being then very little, I considered only as wax, to be moulded as one pleases. John Locke.

   3. Of small dignity, power, or importance.

   When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes. 1 Sam. xv. 17.

   All that is past ought to seem little to thee, because it is so in itself. Jeremy Taylor, Guide to Devotion.

   4. Not much; not many.5. Some; not none.

   I leave him to reconcile these contradictions, which may plentifully be found in him, by any one who will but read with a little attention. John Locke.

2. Littleadverb

   1. In a small degree.

   The received definition of names should be changed as little as possible. Isaac Watts, Logick.

   2. In a small quantity.3. In some degree, but not great.

   Where there is too great a thinness in the fluids, sub-acid substances are proper, though they are a little astringent. John Arbuthnot, on Aliments.

   4. Not much.

   The tongue of the just is as choice silver; the heart of the wicked is little worth. Prov. x. 20.

   Finding him little studious, she chose rather to endue him with conversative qualities of youth; as, dancing and fencing. Henry Wotton.

   That poem was infamously bad; this parallel is little better. John Dryden, Dufresnoy.

   Several clergymen, otherwise little fond of obscure terms, yet in their sermons were very liberal of all those which they find in ecclesiastical writers. Jonathan Swift.

3. Littlenoun

   1. A small space.

   Much was in little writ; and all convey’d
   With cautious care, for fear to be betray’d. Dryden.

   2. A small part; a small proportion.

   He that despiseth little things, shall perish by little and little. Ecclus.

   The poor remnant of human seed which remained in their mountains, peopled their country again slowly, by little and little. Francis Bacon, New Atlantis.

   By freeing the precipitated matter from the rest by filtration, and diligently grinding the white precipitate with water, the mercury will little by little be gathered into drops. Boyle.

   I gave thee thy master’s house, and the house of Israel and Judah; and if that had been too little, I would have given such and such things. 2 Sam. xii. 8.

   They have much of the poetry of Mecænas, but little of his liberality. John Dryden, All for Love. Preface to.

   Nor grudge I thee the much that Grecians give,
   Nor murm’ring take the little I receive. John Dryden, Homer.

   There are many expressions, which carrying with them no clear ideas, are like to remove but little of my ignorance. John Locke.

   3. A slight affair.

   As if ’twere little from their town to chase,
   I through the seas pursued their exil’d race. John Dryden, Æn.

   I view with anger and disdain,
   How little gives thee joy or pain:
   A print, a bronze, a flow’r, a root. Matthew Prior.

   4. Not much.

   These they are fitted for, and little else. George Cheyne.

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Littleadjective

   small in size or extent; not big; diminutive; -- opposed to big or large; as, a little body; a little animal; a little piece of ground; a little hill; a little distance; a little child

2. Littleadjective

   short in duration; brief; as, a little sleep

3. Littleadjective

   small in quantity or amount; not much; as, a little food; a little air or water

4. Littleadjective

   small in dignity, power, or importance; not great; insignificant; contemptible

5. Littleadjective

   small in force or efficiency; not strong; weak; slight; inconsiderable; as, little attention or exertion;little effort; little care or diligence

6. Littleadjective

   small in extent of views or sympathies; narrow; shallow; contracted; mean; illiberal; ungenerous

7. Littlenoun

   that which is little; a small quantity, amount, space, or the like

8. Littlenoun

   a small degree or scale; miniature

9. Littleadverb

   in a small quantity or degree; not much; slightly; somewhat; -- often with a preceding it

10. Etymology: [OE. litel, lutel, AS. ltel, ltel, lt; akin to OS. littil, D. luttel, LG. ltt, OHG. luzzil, MHG. ltzel; and perh. to AS. lytig deceitful, lot deceit, Goth. liuts deceitful, lutn to deceive; cf. also Icel. ltill little, Sw. liten, Dan. liden, lille, Goth. leitils, which appear to have a different root vowel.]

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Little

   The Little was an automobile built in Flint, Michigan by the Little Motor Car Company from 1912-15. The Little first was available as a two-seater with a four-cylinder 20 hp engine, and had a wheelbase of 7 ft 7 in . In 1914 a 3.6 L six-cylinder L-head engine was available in a later model that had a larger chassis. This was phased out in 1915 as it was too close in size and price to the Chevrolet Six. Durant merged the Little Company and Chevrolet in 1913, gave the Chevrolet name to the Little car and moved manufacturing from the Detroit plant to Flint.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Little

   lit′l, adj. (comp. Less; superl. Least) small in quantity or extent: weak, poor: brief.—n. that which is small in quantity or extent: a small space.—adv. in a small quantity or degree: not much.—ns. Litt′le-ease, discomfort, misery: a form of punishment, as the stocks; Litt′le-end′ian, one of the Lilliputian party who opposed the Big-endians, maintaining that boiled eggs should be cracked at the little end; Litt′le-go (see Go); Litt′leness; Litt′le-off′ice, a short service of psalms, hymns, collects, &c.—adj. Litt′leworth, worthless.—By little and little, by degrees; In little, on a small scale; Not a little, considerably. [A.S. lýtel.]

Suggested Resources(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. little

   Song lyrics by little -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by little on the Lyrics.com website.

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'little' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #337

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'little' in Written Corpus Frequency: #176

3. Adverbs Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'little' in Adverbs Frequency: #187

4. Adjectives Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'little' in Adjectives Frequency: #21

How to pronounce little?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say little in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of little in Chaldean Numerology is: 2

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of little in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6

Examples of little in a Sentence

1. Ivan Rodriguez:

   The normal is a little rain every once in a while, but it has been raining day after day with tremendous intensity.

2. Diane Baxter:

   We left our run a little bit too late to get out and the roads were blocked, but we felt we needed to stay and protect the house anyway, we just feel at this time in our life we needed to stay with our home.

3. James Barrie:

   Shall we make a new rule of life from tonight always try to be a little kinder than is necessary.

4. Constantin Stanislavski:

   Remember this practical piece of advice: Never come into the theatre with mud on your feet. Leave your dust and dirt outside. Check your little worries, squabbles, petty difficulties with your outside clothing -- all the things that ruin your life and draw your attention away from your art -- at the door.

5. Ed Murray:

   Obviously people in Seattle love a little more sun but also nothing is built for it, i miss my rain.

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