Word forms: comparative smaller, superlative smallest
1. adjective
A small person, thing, or amount of something is not large in physical size.
She is small for her age. [+ for]
The window was far too small for him to get through.
Next door to the garage is a small orchard area.
Stick them on using a small amount of glue.
Synonyms: little, minute, tiny, slight More Synonyms of small
smallnessuncountable noun
Amy had not mentioned the smallness and bareness of Luis's home. [+ of]
2. adjective
A small group or quantity consists of only a few people or things.
A small group of students meets regularly to learn Japanese.
Guns continued to be produced in small numbers.
3. adjective
A small child is a very young child.
I have a wife and two small children.
What were you like when you were small?
Synonyms: young, little, growing up, junior More Synonyms of small
4. adjective
You use small to describe something that is not significant or great in degree.
It's quite easy to make quite small changes to the way that you work.
No detail was too small to escape her attention.
He believes this to be a relatively small problem.
Synonyms: unimportant, minor, trivial, insignificant More Synonyms of small
5. adjective
Small businesses or companies employ a small number of people and do business with a small number of clients.
...shops, restaurants and other small businesses.
Tool companies here are generally small.
Synonyms: modest, small-scale, humble, unpretentious More Synonyms of small
6. graded adjective [ADJECTIVE noun]
If someone speaks in a small voice, they speak in a quiet, high voice because they are frightened or ashamed.
'I'm scared,' she said in a very small voice.
7. adjective [verb-link ADJECTIVE]
If someone makes you look or feel small, they make you look or feel stupid or ashamed.
This may just be another of her schemes to make me look small.
When your children misbehave tell them without making them feel small.
Synonyms: foolish, uncomfortable, humiliated, crushed More Synonyms of small
8. singular noun
The small of your back is the bottom part of your back that curves in slightly.
Place your hands on the small of your back and breathe in. [+ of]
9. See also smalls
10. the small hours
11. small wonder
More Synonyms of small
small in British English
(smɔːl)
adjective
1.
comparatively little; limited in size, number, importance, etc
2.
of little importance or on a minor scale
a small business
3.
lacking in moral or mental breadth or depth
a small mind
4.
modest or humble
small beginnings
5.
of low or inferior status, esp socially
6.
(of a child or animal) young; not mature
7.
unimportant, trivial
a small matter
8.
not outstanding
a small actor
9.
of, relating to, or designating the ordinary modern minuscule letter used in printing and cursive writing
Compare capital1 (sense 13), See also lower case
10.
lacking great strength or force
a small effort
11.
in fine particles
small gravel
12. obsolete
(of beer, etc) of low alcoholic strength
adverb
13.
into small pieces
you have to cut it small
14.
in a small or soft manner
15. feel small
noun
16. the small
17.
a small slender part, esp of the back
18. (plural) informal, mainly British
items of personal laundry, such as underwear
Derived forms
smallish (ˈsmallish)
adjective
smallness (ˈsmallness)
noun
Word origin
Old English smæl; related to Old High German smal, Old Norse smali small cattle
small in American English
(smɔl)
adjective
1.
little in size, esp. when compared with others of the same kind; not large or big; limited in size
2.
a.
little in quantity, extent, numbers, value, duration, etc.
a small income
b.
of slight intensity; of limited degree or scope
c.
consisting of relatively few units; numerically low
3.
of little importance or significance; trivial
4.
young
a book for small children
5.
having relatively little investment, capital, etc.
a small business
6.
small-minded; mean; petty
7.
a.
of low or inferior rank; ordinary; not notable
b.
modest or humble
8.
gentle and low; soft
said of sound or the voice
9.
diluted; light; weak
small ale
10.
lowercase
adverb
11.
in small pieces
12.
in a low, faint tone; softly
13.
in a small manner
noun
14.
the small or narrow part
the small of the back
15. [pl.]
small things or articles collectively
16. [pl.]; British, Informal
a. Archaic
smallclothes
b.
underclothes
Idioms:
feel small
SYNONYMY NOTE: small, little are often used interchangeably, but , small is preferred with reference to something concrete of less than the usual quantity,size, amount, value, importance, etc. [a small man, tax, audience, matter, etc.] and little more often applies to absolute concepts [he has his little faults], in expressing tenderness, indulgence, etc. [the little woman], and in connoting insignificance, meanness, pettiness, etc. [of little importance]; diminutive implies extreme, sometimes delicate, smallness or littleness [the diminutive Lilliputians]; minute2 and the more informal , tiny suggest that which is extremely diminutive, often to the degree that it can be discernedonly by close scrutiny [a minute, or tiny, difference]; miniature applies to a copy, model, representation, etc. on a very small scale [miniature painting]; petite has specific application to a girl or woman who is small and trim in figure
OPPOSITES: large, big, great
Derived forms
smallness (ˈsmallness)
noun
Word origin
ME smal, narrow, slender < OE smæl, akin to Ger schmal, narrow < IE base *(s)mēlo-, smaller animal: see mal-
More idioms containing
small
a small fortune
a big fish in a small pond
small beer
small potatoes
the small print
make someone feel small
it's a small world
Examples of 'small' in a sentence
small
You have the potential for a great small group ministry of your own.
Christianity Today (2000)
The beds should be small enough to cut from them without having to walk on them.
Page, Russell The Education of a Gardener (1994)
You wonder where the small guys fit in?
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
The same for helping small businesses get loans.
The Sun (2014)
The current king is one of the few people who makes you feel small.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
This high velocity enabled a design requiring a comparatively small "reaction mass".
Baxter, Stephen Anti-Ice (1993)
Think a smaller back size would restrict your movements?
The Sun (2015)
Interest in both has been increasing rapidly but numbers remain small.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Yet there are one or two small problems that matter.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
We are currently only clawing back very small amounts.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Our gang problem is just a small part of a far larger one.
The Sun (2010)
They are a little smaller and darker than song thrushes.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Perhaps a different distribution of pain might have made that number slightly smaller.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
We have to make a small profit.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
The website business is small but shows great promise and the management is well regarded.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Peel the potatoes and cut into small dice.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
They can also fit in the smallest of spaces.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
The incentives increase fivefold for lending to small businesses.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
I've only got a small town back home.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
He runs a small construction company; she's a social worker.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Quotations
Small is beautifulProfessor E.F. Schumachertitle of book
The best things come in small packages
In other languages
small
British English: small /smɔːl/ ADJECTIVE
If something is small, it is not large in size or amount.
She is small for her age.
American English: small
Arabic: صَغِير
Brazilian Portuguese: pequeno
Chinese: 小的
Croatian: malen
Czech: malý
Danish: lille
Dutch: klein
European Spanish: pequeño
Finnish: pieni
French: petit minime
German: klein
Greek: μικρός
Italian: piccolo
Japanese: 小さい
Korean: 작은
Norwegian: liten
Polish: mały
European Portuguese: pequeno
Romanian: mic
Russian: маленький
Latin American Spanish: pequeño
Swedish: liten
Thai: เล็ก
Turkish: küçük
Ukrainian: малий
Vietnamese: nhỏ bé
All related terms of 'small'
small ad
The small ads in a newspaper are short advertisements in which you can advertise something such as an object for sale or a room to let .
small ads
→ the small ads
small arm
a firearm designed to be held in one or both hands while being fired: in the U.S. the term is applied to weapons of a caliber of up to one in. (2.5 cm)
small-cap
A small-cap company or stock is a company or stock that is worth under $1 billion .
small end
a rod or bar for transmitting motion, esp one that connects a rotating part to a reciprocating part
small fry
Small fry is used to refer to someone or something that is considered to be unimportant.
the small
an object, person, or group considered to be small
feel small
to be humiliated or inferior
small arms
Small arms are guns that are light and easy to carry.
small beer
If you say that something is small beer , you mean that it is unimportant in comparison with something else.
small-bore
(of a firearm ) having a small bore, esp one of less than .22 calibre
small chop
cocktail snacks
small crowd
A crowd is a large group of people who have gathered together, for example to watch or listen to something interesting, or to protest about something.
small game
small animals that are hunted for sport
small goods
meats bought from a delicatessen , such as sausages
small hours
If something happens in the small hours , it happens soon after midnight , in the very early morning .
small pica
(formerly) a size of printer's type approximately equal to 11 point
small print
The small print of a contract or agreement is the part of it that is written in very small print. You refer to it as the small print especially when you think that it might include unfavourable conditions which someone might not notice or understand .
small royal
of, relating to, or befitting a king , queen , or other monarch ; regal
small-scale
A small-scale activity or organization is small in size and limited in extent .
small shop
A shop is a building or part of a building where things are sold.
small-size
small in size
small-sized
small in size
small slam
the winning of all tricks except one by one side, or the contract to do so
small step
A step is one of a series of actions that you take in order to achieve something.
small stuff
any light twine or yarn used aboard ship for serving lines, etc
small talk
Small talk is polite conversation about unimportant things that people make at social occasions.
small-time
If you refer to workers or businesses as small-time , you think they are not very important because their work is limited in extent or not very successful .
small town
Small town is used when referring to small places, usually in the United States, where people are friendly, honest, and polite, or to the people there. Small town is also sometimes used to suggest that someone has old-fashioned ideas .
small white
a small white butterfly , Artogeia rapae, with scanty black markings , the larvae of which feed on brassica leaves
small alison
a rare compact annual , Alyssum alyssoides, having small yellow flowers: family Brassicaceae ( crucifers )
small alkanes
Small alkanes are saturated hydrocarbons (=hydrocarbons containing as much hydrogen as possible, and containing only single bonds), usually methane , ethane , propane , and butane .
small amount
The amount of something is how much there is, or how much you have, need, or get .
small barbel
any small cyprinid fish of the genus Barbus
small calorie
→ calorie (sense 1 )
small capital
a letter having the form of an upper-case letter but the same height as a lower-case letter
small change
Small change is coins of low value.
small circle
a circular section of a sphere that does not contain the centre of the sphere
small ermine
an unrelated micro , Yponomeuta padella
small-format
A small-format store is one in which a large retail chain offers only part of their range in a smaller store.
small fortune
a large sum of money
small forward
a versatile attacking player
small holding
a piece of land rented or sold to a farmer by county authorities for purposes of cultivation
small island
An island is a piece of land that is completely surrounded by water.
small letter
a lower-case letter
small magpie
an unrelated micro , Eurrhypara hortulata
small-minded
If you say that someone is small-minded , you are critical of them because they have fixed opinions and are unwilling to change them or to think about more general subjects.
small number
You use number with words such as 'large' or 'small' to say approximately how many things or people there are.
small portion
A portion is the amount of food that is given to one person at a meal .
small screen
When people talk about the small screen , they are referring to television , in contrast to films that are made for the cinema .
Chinese translation of 'small'
small
(smɔːl)
adj
[person, object, quantity, number]小的 (xiǎo de)
⇒ the smallest church in England英格兰最小的教堂 (Yīnggélán zuì xiǎo de jiàotáng)
⇒ a small amount of money一小笔钱 (yī xiǎo bǐ qián)
(= young)[child]年幼的 (niányòu de)
⇒ She had two small children.她有两个年幼的孩子。 (Tā yǒu liǎng gè niányòu de háizi.)