Definitions for petty
ˈpɛt ipet·ty

Princeton's WordNet(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. petit larceny, petty larceny, petty(adj)

   larceny of property having a value less than some amount (the amount varies by locale)

2. junior-grade, lower-ranking, lowly, petty(a), secondary, subaltern(adj)

   inferior in rank or status

   "the junior faculty"; "a lowly corporal"; "petty officialdom"; "a subordinate functionary"

3. fiddling, footling, lilliputian, little, niggling, piddling, piffling, petty, picayune, trivial(adj)

   (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"

4. petty, small-minded(adj)

   contemptibly narrow in outlook

   "petty little comments"; "disgusted with their small-minded pettiness"

Wiktionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. petty(Adjective)

   (obsolete except in set phrases) little, small, secondary in rank or importance

   Etymology: From petit, English since the late 14th century.

2. petty(Adjective)

   insignificant, trifling, or inconsiderable

   a petty fault

   Etymology: From petit, English since the late 14th century.

3. petty(Adjective)

   narrow-minded, small-minded

   Etymology: From petit, English since the late 14th century.

Webster Dictionary(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Petty

   little; trifling; inconsiderable; also, inferior; subordinate; as, a petty fault; a petty prince

Freebase(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Petty

   Petty is an unincorporated community in Lamar County, Texas, United States. The Chisum Independent School District serves area students.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(4.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. Petty

   pet′i, adj. small: of less importance: lower in rank, power, &c.: inconsiderable, insignificant: contemptible.—adv. Pett′ily.—n. Pett′iness.—Petty cash, small sums of money received or paid; Petty larceny (see Larceny); Petty officer, a naval officer with rank corresponding to a non-commissioned officer in the army. [O. Fr. petit.]

Editors Contribution(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. petty

   Petty (adj) not important or no value.

   Petty is a nonsense discussion.

   Submitted by pinkss5 on October 21, 2015  

Etymology and Origins(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Petty

   Provincial for an out-house, because its accommodation is restricted to one person; also called a “Privy,” short for private.

How to pronounce petty?

1. 

   Alex

   US English

   

   Daniel

   British

   

   Karen

   Australian

   

   Veena

   Indian

How to say petty in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of petty in Chaldean Numerology is: 4

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of petty in Pythagorean Numerology is: 5

Examples of petty in a Sentence

1. Don Felder:

   Tom Petty was one of my guitar students; I knew Duane, and Stephen and I had a band. When he left, Bernie Leadon moved to Gainesville. His father was a nuclear physicist who was sent to the University of Florida to start their nuclear research facility, so he and I became friends.

2. Mitch McConnell:

   We will pledge to rise above petty factionalism and do justice for our institutions, for our states, and for the nation.

3. Patrick Leahy:

   Instead of standing with our neighbors, our fellow Americans, the president has chosen to hold petty grudges that are way beneath the office of the presidency.

4. Winston Churchill:

   Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never -- in nothing, great or small, large or petty -- never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense.

5. Paul Tabori, _The Natural Science of Stupidity_. (New York: ChiltonCompany, 1960), p. 104.:

   Modern war has decimated many a country; but it has always spawned millions of bureaucrats. They fatten on shortages and thrive on trouble. Peace can never offer such opportunities for exercising petty tyrannies, using red tape to regiment the individual and making life generally unpleasant.

Images & Illustrations of petty

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