The following adjectives are used to indicate how small or large something is. They are arranged from 'smallest' to 'largest'.
Small and little are both used to say that someone or something is not large. There are some important differences in the ways these words are used.
Small can be used in front of a noun, or after a verb such as be.
Little is normally used only in front of nouns. You can talk about 'a little town', but you do not say 'The town is little'.
You can use words like quite and rather in front of small.
Don't use these words in front of 'little'.
You can use very and too in front of small.
'Very' or 'too' are not usually used in front of little when it is an adjective, except when you are talking about a young child. You don't say, for example, 'I have a very little car', but you can say 'She was a very little girl.'
Small has the comparative and superlative forms smaller and smallest.
The comparative form littler and the superlative form littlest are mostly used in spoken English and to talk about young children.
You can use other adjectives in front of little.
Be Careful!
You don't normally use other adjectives in front of 'small'.
| Noun | 1. | small - the slender part of the back body part - any part of an organism such as an organ or extremity |
| 2. | small - a garment size for a small person size - the property resulting from being one of a series of graduated measurements (as of clothing); "he wears a size 13 shoe" | |
| Adj. | 1. | small - 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" big, large - above average in size or number or quantity or magnitude or extent; "a large city"; "set out for the big city"; "a large sum"; "a big (or large) barn"; "a large family"; "big businesses"; "a big expenditure"; "a large number of newspapers"; "a big group of scientists"; "large areas of the world" |
| 2. | small - limited in size or scope; "a small business"; "a newspaper with a modest circulation"; "small-scale plans"; "a pocket-size country"limited - small in range or scope; "limited war"; "a limited success"; "a limited circle of friends" | |
| 3. | small - (of children and animals) young, immature; "what a big little boy you are"; "small children" | |
| 4. | small - slight or limited; especially in degree or intensity or scope; "a series of death struggles with small time in between" archaicism, archaism - the use of an archaic expression slight, little - (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" | |
| 5. | small - low or inferior in station or quality; "a humble cottage"; "a lowly parish priest"; "a modest man of the people"; "small beginnings"inferior - of or characteristic of low rank or importance | |
| 6. | small - lowercase; "little a"; "small a"; "e.e.cummings's poetry is written all in minuscule letters" lowercase - relating to small (not capitalized) letters that were kept in the lower half of a compositor's type case; "lowercase letters; a and b and c etc" | |
| 7. | small - (of a voice) faint; "a little voice"; "a still small voice" soft - (of sound) relatively low in volume; "soft voices"; "soft music" | |
| 8. | small - have fine or very small constituent particles; "a small misty rain" fine - of textures that are smooth to the touch or substances consisting of relatively small particles; "wood with a fine grain"; "fine powdery snow"; "fine rain"; "batiste is a cotton fabric with a fine weave"; "covered with a fine film of dust" | |
| 9. | small - not large but sufficient in size or amount; "a modest salary"; "modest inflation"; "helped in my own small way"moderate - being within reasonable or average limits; not excessive or extreme; "moderate prices"; "a moderate income"; "a moderate fine"; "moderate demands"; "a moderate estimate"; "a moderate eater"; "moderate success"; "a kitchen of moderate size"; "the X-ray showed moderate enlargement of the heart" | |
| 10. | small - made to seem smaller or less (especially in worth); "her comments made me feel small" | |
| Adv. | 1. | small - on a small scale; "think small" big - on a grand scale; "think big" |