What does small mean?

Definitions for small
smɔlsmall

This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word small.

Princeton's WordNet

  1. smallnoun

    the slender part of the back

  2. smalladjective

    a garment size for a small person

  3. 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"

  4. minor, modest, small, small-scale, pocket-size, pocket-sizedadjective

    limited in size or scope

    "a small business"; "a newspaper with a modest circulation"; "small-scale plans"; "a pocket-size country"

  5. little, smalladjective

    (of children and animals) young, immature

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

  6. small(a)adjective

    slight or limited; especially in degree or intensity or scope

    "a series of death struggles with small time in between"

  7. humble, low, lowly, modest, smalladjective

    low or inferior in station or quality

    "a humble cottage"; "a lowly parish priest"; "a modest man of the people"; "small beginnings"

  8. little, minuscule, smalladjective

    lowercase

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

  9. little, smalladjective

    (of a voice) faint

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

  10. smalladjective

    have fine or very small constituent particles

    "a small misty rain"

  11. modest, smalladjective

    not large but sufficient in size or amount

    "a modest salary"; "modest inflation"; "helped in my own small way"

  12. belittled, diminished, smalladverb

    made to seem smaller or less (especially in worth)

    "her comments made me feel small"

  13. smalladverb

    on a small scale

    "think small"

Wiktionary

  1. smallnoun

    Any part of something that is smaller or slimmer than the rest, now usually with anatomical reference to the back.

  2. smallnoun

    Underclothes.

  3. smalladverb

    In a small fashion.

  4. smalladjective

    Not large or big; insignificant; few in numbers or size.

  5. smalladjective

    Young, as a child.

    Remember when the children were small?

  6. smalladjective

    Minuscule or lowercase, referring to written letters.

  7. Etymology: From smal, from smæl, from smalaz, from (s)mal-. Cognate with smel, smal, schmal, små, malus, малый.

Samuel Johnson's Dictionary

  1. SMALLadjective

    Etymology: small , Saxon; smal, Dutch; smaar, Islandick.

    For a small moment have I forsaken thee, but with great mercies will I gather thee. Is. liv. 7.

    Death only this mysterious truth unfolds,
    The mighty soul how small a body holds. John Dryden, Juven.

    All numeration is but still the adding of one unit more, and giving to the whole together a distinct name, whereby to distinguish it from every smaller or greater multitude of units. John Locke.

    The ordinary smallest measure we have is looked on as an unit in number. John Locke.

    The danger is less when the quantity of the fluids is too small, than when it is too great; for a smaller quantity will pass where a larger cannot, but not contrariwise. Arbuthnot.

    Good cooks cannot abide fiddling work: such is the dressing of small birds, requiring a world of cookery. Jonathan Swift.

    After the earthquake a fire, and after the fire a still small voice. 1 Kings xix. 12.

    Your sin and calf I burnt, and ground it very small, ’till it was as small as dust. Deutr. ix. 21.

    Those wav’d their limber fans
    For wings, and smallest lineaments exact. John Milton.

    Small grained sand is esteemed the best for the tenant, and the large for the landlord and land. John Mortimer, Husbandry.

    There arose no small stir about that way. Acts xix. 23.

    Is it a small matter that thou hast taken my husband? Gen.

    Narrow man being fill’d with little shares,
    Courts, city, church, are all shops of small wares;
    All having blown to sparks their noble fire,
    And drawn their sound gold ingot into wire. John Donne.

    Some mens behaviour is like a verse, wherein every syllable is measured: how can a man comprehend great matters that breaketh his mind too much to small observations? Francis Bacon.

    Go down to the cellar to draw ale or small beer. Jonathan Swift.

  2. Smallnoun

    The small or narrow part of any thing. It is particularly applied to the part of the leg below the calf.

    Etymology: from the adjective.

    Her garment was cut after such a fashion, that though the length of it reached to the ancles, yet in her going one might sometimes discern the small of her leg. Philip Sidney.

    Into her legs I’d have love’s issues fall,
    And all her calf into a gouty small. John Suckling.

    His excellency, having mounted on the small of my leg, advanced forwards. Gulliver’s Travels.

Wikipedia

  1. SMALL

    Small Machine Algol Like Language (SMALL), is a computer programming language developed by Nevil Brownlee of the University of Auckland.

ChatGPT

  1. small

    Small is an adjective that typically describes something of limited size, magnitude, or scale. It implies a lack of bulk or volume, usually relative to the average or typical size of similar things in its category. The exact definition of "small" may vary depending on the context or the specific object being referred to.

Webster Dictionary

  1. Small

    having little size, compared with other things of the same kind; little in quantity or degree; diminutive; not large or extended in dimension; not great; not much; inconsiderable; as, a small man; a small river

  2. Small

    being of slight consequence; feeble in influence or importance; unimportant; trivial; insignificant; as, a small fault; a small business

  3. Small

    envincing little worth or ability; not large-minded; -- sometimes, in reproach, paltry; mean

  4. Small

    not prolonged in duration; not extended in time; short; as, after a small space

  5. Small

    weak; slender; fine; gentle; soft; not loud

  6. Smalladverb

    in or to small extent, quantity, or degree; little; slightly

  7. Smalladverb

    not loudly; faintly; timidly

  8. Smallnoun

    the small or slender part of a thing; as, the small of the leg or of the back

  9. Smallnoun

    smallclothes

  10. Smallnoun

    same as Little go. See under Little, a

  11. Smallverb

    to make little or less

  12. Etymology: [OE. small, AS. smael; akin to D. smal narrow, OS. & OHG. smal small, G. schmal narrow, Dan. & Sw. smal, Goth. smals small, Icel. smali small cattle, sheep, or goats; cf. Gr. mh^lon a sheep or goat.]

Wikidata

  1. SMALL

    SMALL, Small Machine Algol Like Language, is a programming language developed by Dr. Nevil Brownlee of Auckland University.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary

  1. Small

    smawl, adj. little in quantity or degree: minute: not great: unimportant: ungenerous, petty: of little worth or ability: short: having little strength: gentle: little in quality or quantity.—adv. in a low tone; gently.—ns. Small′-ale, ale with little malt and unhopped; Small′-and-earl′y (coll.) an informal evening-party.—n.pl. Small′-arms, muskets, rifles, pistols, &c., including all weapons that can be actually carried by a man.—n. Small′-beer, a kind of weak beer.—adj. inferior generally.—n.pl. Small′-clothes, knee-breeches, esp. those of the close-fitting 18th-century form.—ns. Small′-coal, coal not in lumps but small pieces; Small′-craft, small vessels generally.—n.pl. Small′-debts, a phrase current in Scotland to denote debts under £12, recoverable in the Sheriff Court.—n. Small′-hand, writing such as is ordinarily used in correspondence.—n.pl. Small′-hours, the hours immediately following midnight.—adj. Small′ish, somewhat small.—ns. Small′ness; Small′-pī′ca (see Pica); Small′pox, or Variola, a contagious, febrile disease, of the class known as Exanthemata, characterised by small pocks or eruptions on the skin; Smalls, the 'little-go' or previous examination: small-clothes; Small′-talk, light or trifling conversation.—n.pl. Small′-wares (see Ware).—In a small way, with little capital or stock: unostentatiously. [A.S. smæl; Ger. schmal.]

Dictionary of Nautical Terms

  1. small

    The narrow part of the tail of a whale, in front of the flukes. Also, that part of the anchor-shank which is immediately under the stock.

Suggested Resources

  1. small

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

Surnames Frequency by Census Records

  1. SMALL

    According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Small is ranked #861 in terms of the most common surnames in America.

    The Small surname appeared 40,212 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 14 would have the surname Small.

    62.6% or 25,197 total occurrences were White.
    30.8% or 12,389 total occurrences were Black.
    2.6% or 1,050 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
    1.9% or 776 total occurrences were of two or more races.
    1.4% or 567 total occurrences were American Indian or Alaskan Native.
    0.5% or 233 total occurrences were Asian.

Matched Categories

British National Corpus

  1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'small' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #179

  2. Written Corpus Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'small' in Written Corpus Frequency: #435

  3. Adjectives Frequency

    Rank popularity for the word 'small' in Adjectives Frequency: #7

How to pronounce small?

How to say small in sign language?

Numerology

  1. Chaldean Numerology

    The numerical value of small in Chaldean Numerology is: 5

  2. Pythagorean Numerology

    The numerical value of small in Pythagorean Numerology is: 3

Examples of small in a Sentence

  1. David Richards:

    We can't compete with companies that have trillion-dollar market caps, salary is just a small aspect, and we pay very well... we retain staff because we do things like this.

  2. Richard Feynman, Letter to Koichi Mano:

    No problem is too small or too trivial if we can really do something about it.

  3. Cao Yu:

    The impact on small and medium-sized banks are also relatively obvious, this year, you will see that the reform and restructuring of small and medium-sized banks will be more intensive, especially in the field of market-oriented restructuring.

  4. President Bush:

    Let us remember how small our differences are in the face of this shared threat.

  5. Maria Fantappie:

    Their relevance is the way that Abadi will use them as a stepping stone to make some small changes which will empower his popularity and position vis-a-vis other powerful rivals in the Shi'ite political scene.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

small#1#350#10000

Translations for small

From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary

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"small." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 19 Mar. 2024. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/small>.

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