littleadjective
uk/ˈlɪt.əl/us/ˈlɪt̬.əl/little adjective (SMALL)
A1 small in size or amount:
It came in a little box.
a little dog/nose/room
A little old man came into the room.
He gave a little smile.
It'll only take a little while to clear up the kitchen.
a little something
a small amount of food or drink:
I always like to have a little something around eleven o'clock in the morning.
a present that is not of great value:
I want to buy a little something to give to Val when I visit her in hospital.
More examples
- The dog's name was engraved on a little metal disc attached to its collar.
- We tried to arrange a ceremony with as little fuss as possible.
- Hyperactive children often have poor concentration and require very little sleep.
- Several little boats escorted the sailing ship into the harbour.
- You turn this little knob to adjust the volume.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Small
- baby
- bijou
- bite-sized
- claustrophobic
- compact
- diminutive
- dinky
- modest
- on the large, small, etc. side idiom
- petite
- pint-sized
- pocket handkerchief
- pocket-sized
- poky
- portable
- shrunken
- skimpy
- undersized
- wee
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Small in number and quantity
Meals & parts of meals
Presents and gifts
little adjective (YOUNG)
A1 young:
When you were little your hair was really curly.
She was my little (= younger) sister and I took care of her.
Her little boy (= her young son) isn't well.
More examples
- One little girl was clinging onto a cuddly toy.
- It became clear that he wasn't developing like all the other little boys.
- She's always fussing over that son of hers as if he were a little boy.
- Emily is Sophie's little sister.
- I lived here when I was little.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Describing people who are young
- adolescent
- at your mother's knee idiom
- be knee-high to a grasshopper idiom
- flower
- fresh-faced
- in the flower of sb's youth idiom
- knee-high
- mother
- prepubescent
- slip
- small
- teen
- tender
- time
- tweenager
- underage
- yoof
- young
- youthful
- yute
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little adjective (EMPHASIZE)
B2 [ before noun ] used to emphasize an opinion that is being given about something or someone:
That was a nice little suit she was wearing.
It's not a bad little restaurant, is it?
He's a nasty little man.
More examples
- I'm not interested in all their silly little likes and dislikes.
- You told Mrs Cooper that it was me who tipped the paint over, didn't you - you nasty little sneak!
- I had a nice little snooze in the back of the car.
- All you ate was a tiddly little piece of cake.
- You little liar! You know that's not true!
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Linguistics: very & extreme
- abject
- awful
- badly
- beyond
- classic
- classical
- devastating
- drop dead! idiom
- eminently
- esp
- especially
- heartily
- impossibly
- rather
- sheer
- specially
- supremely
- thoroughly
- whole
- wide
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little adjective (UNIMPORTANT)
B1 [ before noun ] not very important or serious:
I had a little problem with my car, but it's been fixed now.
It's often the little things that count the most.
Can I have a little word (= a short discussion about something not very important) with you?
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Of little or less importance
- be in/under sb's shadow idiom
- be neither here nor there idiom
- be no big deal idiom
- biggie
- derisory
- fringe
- lowly
- merely
- minor
- miss
- mouldy
- need
- peripheral
- petty
- poxy
- rinky-dink
- sideshow
- small-time
- stay
- subordinate
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Idiom(s)
a little bird told me
make little of sth
littledeterminer
uk/ˈlɪt.əl/us/ˈlɪt̬.əl/little determiner (NOT ENOUGH)
B1 not much or enough:
There seems little hope of a ceasefire.
They have very little money.
There's so little choice.
More examples
- The new building has little aesthetic value.
- There's very little communication between mother and daughter .
- The hut afforded little protection from the elements.
- The money was of little consequence to Tony.
- Too little exercise is a contributory factor in heart disease.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Scarce, inadequate and not enough
- be at a premium idiom
- be thin on the ground idiom
- dearth
- deficiency
- deficient
- gold dust
- lacking
- long on sth and short on sth idiom
- lousy
- meagre
- measly
- nearly
- rare
- scarce
- scarcity
- shortage
- shortfall
- shy
- sparse
- thin
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little determiner (SMALL AMOUNT)
a little
B1 a small amount of something:
This sauce needs a little salt.
With a little training she could do very well.
Can I give you a little advice?
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Words meaning small pieces and amounts
- by a nose idiom
- chip
- clipping
- crumb
- dollop
- droplet
- flake
- germ
- jot
- nose
- pat
- patch
- pennyworth
- pinprick
- ray
- scattering
- scintilla
- shard
- shred
- trace
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littlepronoun, noun
uk/ˈlɪt.əl/us/ˈlɪt̬.əl/little pronoun, noun (SMALL AMOUNT)
B1 [ S ] a small amount:
I could only hear a little of what they were saying.
He does as little as possible at work.
There's not much flour left but you're welcome to the/what little there is.
More examples
- We ate a little of the bread.
- He gave us a little of his money.
- I already knew a little of what he had to say.
- She eats as little as she can.
- You can see what little I have.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Words meaning small pieces and amounts
- by a nose idiom
- chip
- clipping
- crumb
- dollop
- droplet
- flake
- germ
- jot
- nose
- pat
- patch
- pennyworth
- pinprick
- ray
- scattering
- scintilla
- shard
- shred
- trace
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little pronoun, noun (NOT ENOUGH)
B1 an amount that is not much or not enough:
We did very little on Sunday.
Very little of what he said made any sense to me.
Unfortunately, little of the artist's work has survived.
The government has done little or nothing to help the poorest people in this country.
The little we do know about the people who lived here suggests they had a very sophisticated society.
More examples
- I spent most of my money in the first week and consequently had very little to eat by the end of the holiday.
- Very little of his art appeals to me.
- Little of what she said seemed relevant.
- They have done little to improve their situation.
- We can do very little to help them.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Scarce, inadequate and not enough
- be at a premium idiom
- be thin on the ground idiom
- dearth
- deficiency
- deficient
- gold dust
- lacking
- long on sth and short on sth idiom
- lousy
- meagre
- measly
- nearly
- rare
- scarce
- scarcity
- shortage
- shortfall
- shy
- sparse
- thin
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littleadverb
uk/ˈlɪt.əl/us/ˈlɪt̬.əl/little adverb (SMALL AMOUNT)
a little (bit)
More examples
- The ice-cream was a little bit sweet for me.
- Could you speak a little louder, please?
- I'm quite tired but I can certainly walk a little further.
- She's recovering well from her operation, but she's still a little shaky on her feet.
- Well, you could try to look a little more enthusiastic!
A2 slightly:
I was a little bit worried by what she said.
We'll wait a little longer and then I'll phone them.
There's only a little further to go.
little by little
B2 slowly or gradually:
Little by little she came to understand why he had behaved the way he did.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Some and quite
- bit
- certain
- degree
- faintly
- fairly
- ha'porth
- mite
- moderate
- pretty
- quite
- rather
- remotely
- several
- shade
- slightly
- somewhat
- sort
- sort of idiom
- to a/some degree idiom
- trifle
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Slow and moving slowly
little adverb (NOT MUCH)
C1 not much:
She slept very little that night.
a little-known fact
Little did he know what lay in store for him.
little more/better
C2 not much more or better:
The wine they gave us was little better than vinegar.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Scarce, inadequate and not enough
- be at a premium idiom
- be thin on the ground idiom
- dearth
- deficiency
- deficient
- gold dust
- lacking
- long on sth and short on sth idiom
- lousy
- meagre
- measly
- nearly
- rare
- scarce
- scarcity
- shortage
- shortfall
- shy
- sparse
- thin
See more results »