little

lit·tle  (ltl)

adj. lit·tler or less (ls) also less·er (lsr), lit·tlest or least (lst)

1. Small in size: a little dining room. See Synonyms at small.

2. Short in extent or duration; brief: There is little time left.

3. Small in quantity or degree: little money.

4. Unimportant; trivial: a little matter.

5. Narrow; petty: mean little comments; a little mind consumed with trivia.

6. Without much power or influence; of minor status.

7.

a. Being at an early stage of growth; young: a little child.

b. Younger or youngest. Used especially of a sibling: My little brother is leaving for college next week.

adv. less or lesser, least

1. Not much; scarcely: works long hours, sleeping little.

2. Not in the least; not at all: They little expected such a generous gift.

n.

1. A small quantity or amount: Give me a little.

2. Something much less than all: I know little of their history.

3. A short distance or time: a little down the road; waited a little.

Idioms:

a little

Somewhat; a bit: felt a little better.

little by little

By small degrees or increments; gradually.

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[Middle English, from Old English ltel.]

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little·ness n.

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little

Adjective

1. of small or less than average size

2. young: a little boy

3. endearingly familiar: he was a sweet little man

4. contemptible, mean, or disagreeable: some of my best friends were little squirts

5. of small quantity, extent, or duration: there was little money circulating, I could see little evidence of it

Adverb

1. (usually preceded by a)to a small extent or degree; not a lot: to sleep a little

2. not at all, or hardly: army life varied little as the years passed

3. not much or often: we go there very little now

4. little by little by small degrees

Noun

1. make little of to treat as insignificant: one episode in their history is made little of in the guide books

2. think little of to have a low opinion of

See also less, lesser, least [Old English lȳtel]

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	little - a small amount or duration; "he accepted the little they gave him" small indefinite amount, small indefinite quantity - an indefinite quantity that is below average size or magnitude
Adj.	1.	little - 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" small 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.	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" slight less - (comparative of `little' usually used with mass nouns) a quantifier meaning not as great in amount or degree; "of less importance"; "less time to spend with the family"; "a shower uses less water"; "less than three years old" much - (quantifier used with mass nouns) great in quantity or degree or extent; "not much rain"; "much affection"; "much grain is in storage"
	3.	little - (of children and animals) young, immature; "what a big little boy you are"; "small children" small young, immature - (used of living things especially persons) in an early period of life or development or growth; "young people"
	4.	little - (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" fiddling, footling, niggling, picayune, piddling, piffling, trivial, petty, lilliputian colloquialism - a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech unimportant - not important; "a relatively unimportant feature of the system"; "the question seems unimportant"
	5.	little - (of a voice) faint; "a little voice"; "a still small voice" small soft - (of sound) relatively low in volume; "soft voices"; "soft music"
	6.	little - low in stature; not tall; "he was short and stocky"; "short in stature"; "a short smokestack"; "a little man" short low - literal meanings; being at or having a relatively small elevation or upward extension; "low ceilings"; "low clouds"; "low hills"; "the sun is low"; "low furniture"; "a low bow"
	7.	little - lowercase; "little a"; "small a"; "e.e.cummings's poetry is written all in minuscule letters" minuscule, small 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"
	8.	little - small in a way that arouses feelings (of tenderness or its opposite depending on the context); "a nice little job"; "bless your little heart"; "my dear little mother"; "a sweet little deal"; "I'm tired of your petty little schemes"; "filthy little tricks"; "what a nasty little situation" emotional - of more than usual emotion; "his behavior was highly emotional"
Adv.	1.	little - not much; "he talked little about his family"

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little

adjective 1. not much, small, insufficient, scant, meagre, sparse, skimpy, measly, hardly any << OPPOSITE ample

adjective 2. small, minute, short, tiny, mini, wee, compact, miniature, dwarf, slender, diminutive, petite, dainty, elfin, bijou, infinitesimal, teeny-weeny, Lilliputian, munchkin (informal), chiefly U.S. teensy-weensy, pygmy or pigmy << OPPOSITE big

adjective 3. young, small, junior, infant, immature, undeveloped, babyish

adjective 4. unimportant, minor, petty, trivial, trifling, insignificant, negligible, paltry, inconsiderable << OPPOSITE important

adjective 5. mean, base, cheap, petty, narrow-minded, small-minded, illiberal

adverb 6. hardly, barely, not quite, not much, only just, scarcely << OPPOSITE much

adverb 7. rarely, seldom, scarcely, not often, infrequently, hardly ever << OPPOSITE always

noun 8. bit, touch, spot, trace, hint, dash, particle, fragment, pinch, small amount, dab, trifle, tad (informal), chiefly U.S. snippet, speck, modicum << OPPOSITE lot >> a little to a small extent, slightly, to some extent, to a certain extent, to a small degree

Translations

little [ˈlɪtl] adj (= small) → pequeño, chico (LAM) (= not much); poco;

(often translated by suffix, eg): little house → casita

adv → poco;

a little → un poco (de);

little by little → poco a poco;

little finger → (dedo) meñique m;

for a little while → (durante) un rato;

with little difficulty → sin problema or dificultad;

as little as possible → lo menos posible

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little [ˈlɪtl] adj (= small) → petit(e) (= not much);

little milk → peu de lait adv → peu;

a little → un peu (de);

a little milk → un peu de lait;

a little bit → un peu;

for a little while → pendant un petit moment;

with little difficulty → sans trop de difficulté;

as little as possible → le moins possible;

little by little → petit à petit, peu à peu;

to make little of → faire peu de cas de

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little [ˈlɪtl] adj → klein (= short); kurz

adv → wenig;

a little → ein wenig, ein bisschen;

a little bit → ein kleines bisschen;

to have little time/money → wenig Zeit/Geld haben;

little by little → nach und nach

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little [ˈlɪtl] adj (= small) → piccolo/a (= not much); poco/a

adv → poco;

a little → un po' (di);

a little milk → un po' di latte;

with little difficulty → senza fatica or difficoltà;

little by little → a poco a poco;

as little as possible → il meno possibile;

for a little while → per un po';

to make little of → dare poca importanza a;

little finger → mignolo

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little

adj little [ˈlitl]

1 small in size He is only a little boy; when she was little (= a child). klein صَغير малък malý lille klein μικρός (σε μέγεθος) pequeño väike کوچک pieni petit קָטָן थोडा़ malen kicsi, kis kecil lítill piccolo 小さい 작은 mažas mazs kecil klein liten mały pequeno mic маленький malý majhen mali liten ตัวเล็ก küçük, ufak 小的 маленький چھوٹا nhỏ bé 小的

2 small in amount; not much He has little knowledge of the difficulties involved. min قَليل малък málo lidt; lille wenig λίγος, ελάχιστος poco vähe کم vähäinen peu (de) מְעַט छोटा mali, nedostatan kevés sedikit lítill poco ほとんどない 적은 nedidelis neliels; niecīgs sedikit weinig lite, litt niewielki pequeno puţin небольшой málo malo mali lite, litet, föga น้อยนิด az 一點點 невеликий مقدار میں کم một ít 一点点

3 not important I did not expect her to make a fuss about such a little thing. klein قَليل الأهَميَّه малък nedůležitý lille unbedeutend ασήμαντος sin importancia vähetähtis ناچیز vähäpätöinen sans importance דָבַר קָטָן महत्वहीन nevažan jelentéktelen sepele ómerkilegur piccolo, (poco importante) ささいな 사소한 menkas nesvarīgs tidak penting onbelangrijk lite(n) drobny, niewielki pequeno lipsit de im­por­tanţă незначительный bezvýznamný nepomemben nebitan liten, ringa, obetydlig เล็กน้อย önemsiz, küçük 瑣碎的 малий, незначний بغیر اہمیت không quan trọng 琐碎的

pron

(only) a small amount He knows little of the real world. min, weinig كميَّه قَليلَه малко málo kun lidt wenig ελάχιστο, ελάχιστα πράγματα poco vähe کم vähän peu de chose (sur) מְעַט थोड़ा-सा, कुछ, बहुत कम premalo keveset sedikit lítið, fátt eitt poco ほんの少し 소량 nedaug maz sedikit weinig lite, litt niewiele pouco puţine lucruri немного málo malo malo lite, föga เล็กน้อย az miktar 一些 небагато تھوڑا lượng nhỏ 一些

adv

1 not much I go out little nowadays. min قَليلا малко málo kun lidt wenig ελάχιστα, λίγο poco vähe به ندرت؛ کم vähän peu מְעַט छोटा, लघु ne previše egy kicsit sedikit lítið poco ほとんど～しない 조금 mažai maz tak banyak weinig bare litt, ikke mye mało pouco puţin мало málo malo malo lite, inte mycket ไม่มาก; ไม่บ่อย az, pek az 少 мало, трохи قلت سے không nhiều 少

2 only to a small degree a little-known fact. minder إلى درَجَةٍ قَليلَه малко málo kun lidt wenig ελάχιστα, σε πολύ μικρό βαθμό poco vähe کمتر vähän peu מְעַט केवल अल्प मात्रा में malo, nedostatno kevéssé sedikit lítt, lítið poco ほとんど～ない 거의 ...아니다 menkai, mažai maz; nedaudz sedikit sahaja weinig lite- mało pouco puţin мало, почти нисколько málo malo slabo föga น้อย azıcık 稍許 мало کم جانا ہوا một chút 稍许

3 not at all He little knows how ill he is. min قليلا جدا، بالمَرَّه изобщо vůbec ne slet ikke überhaupt nicht σχεδόν καθόλου nada, ni la menor idea sugugi اصلا؛ ابدا ei ollenkaan loin de אֵינוֹ יוֹדֵע बिल्कुल नहीं uopće alig(ha) tidak alls ekki (per niente) 全く～しない 전혀 ...않다 visai ne nemaz; nepavisam langsung tidak helemaal niet ikke i det hele tatt wcale nie não nici pe departe (nu...) совсем не vôbec nie sploh ne uopšte föga, inte alls ไม่ทราบ hiç 毫不 зовсім не قطعی نہیں không biết tí nào 毫不

a little

1 a short time or distance Move a little to the right! bietjie مسافةً قصيرَه малко trochu lidt ein bißchen λίγο (για χρόνο ή απόσταση) un poco veidi کوتاه vähän un peu מֶרחָק/זְמָן קָצָר थोड़ा-सा malo egy kicsit sedikit dálítið un po' ちょっと 잠시, 짧은 거리 truputį mazliet; nedaudz sedikit een beetje/eindje litt, en smule trochę um pouco puţin чуть-чуть trocha, trochu malo malo lite ระยะทางสั้น biraz, birazcık 一點 трохи تھوڑا وقت یا مسافت ngắn 一点

2 a small quantity of something He has a little money to spare; 'Is there any soup left?' `Yes, a little.' bietjie كميَّة قليلَه малко trochu lidt; en smule etwas λίγος, σε μικρή ποσότητα un poco pisut معدود؛ کم vähän un peu קְצָת अधिक नहीं malo egy kevés sedikit dálítið, smávegis un po' 少し 소량 truputis, truputį mazliet; nedaudz sedikit een beetje litt trochę pouco puţin немного trocha, trochu nekaj malo lite จำนวนน้อย biraz 少量 трохи تھوڑی مقدار một chút 少量

3 slightly She was a little frightened. bietjie قليلا малко trochu lidt; en smule ein wenig λίγο un poco veidi کمی hiukan un peu מְעָט थोड़ा-सा malo kissé agak dálítið un po' 少し 조금 truputį mazliet; nedaudz sedikit een beetje litt, nokså trochę pouco puţin слегка trocha, trošku rahlo pomalo lite, en smula อย่างเล็กน้อย biraz, birazcık, azıcık 稍許 трохи تھوڑا hơi 稍许

little by little

gradually Little by little we began to get to know him. bietjie-vir-bietjie تَدْريجيّاً малко по малко poznenáhlu, pozvolna lidt efter lidt; efterhånden nach und nach λίγο λίγο poco a poco vähehaaval به تدریج؛ کم کم vähitellen petit à petit לְאָט לְאָט धीरे-धीरे, शनै: शनै: postupno, pomalo apránként berangsur-angsur, sedikit demi sedikit smám saman a poco a poco 少しずつ 차츰 pamažu pamazām sedikit demi sedikit beetje bij beetje litt etter litt, gradvis po trochu pouco a pouco puţin câte puţin мало-помалу postupne po malem malo pomalo lite i sänder, gradvis ทีละเล็กทีละน้อย yavaş yavaş, azar azar 逐漸地 помалу; поступово آہستہ آہستہ dần dần 逐渐地

make little of

1 to treat as unimportant etc He made little of his injuries. gering ag, min waarde heg aan يَسْتَخِف، يَسْتَهين омаловажавам dělat si málo z ikke gøre noget ud af wenig Aufhebens machen um δεν δίνω σημασία σε κτ., παίρνω αψήφιστα quitar importancia (tähtsust) pisendama ناچیز شمردن vähätellä peu de faire cas de qqch. לְהַקטִין אֶת הַחֲשִיבוּת तुच्छ समझना nevažno nem csinál nagy ügyet vmiből; kevésre becsül vkit meremehkan gera lítið úr tenere in poco conto 軽視する ...을 가벼이 보다, 깔보다 nekreipti dėmesio į neuzskatīt par svarīgu memandang ringan als onbelangrijk afdoen bagatellisere, ikke gjøre noe stort nummer av niewiele sobie robić z ligar pouco a nu da im­por­tanţă не придавать значения nerobiť si nič z podcenjevati, ne meniti se za tretirati kao nebitno inte göra mycket väsen av ไม่สำคัญ önem vermemek, küçümsemek 不重視 не сприймати серйозно, не надавати значення اہم نہ سمجھنا coi thường 不重视

2 not to be able to understand I could make little of his instructions. weinig van iets begryp يَفْهَم قَليلا не разбирам chápat málo ikke forstå; ikke få noget ud af wenig anfangen können mit δυσκολεύομαι να καταλάβω no captar, no entender vähe aru saama چیز زیادی نفهمیدن saada vain vähän irti ne pas comprendre grand chose à לא לְהָבִין कम समझना nerazumljivo nem sokat ért vmiből tidak mengerti eiga í erfiðleikum með að skilja capirci poco ほとんど分からない 조금밖에 이해하지 못하다 ne ką suprasti maz ko saprast tidak begitu faham geen touw kunnen vastknopen aan forstå dårlig, få lite ut av niewiele pojmować z não perceber a nu înţelege mare lucru din не понимать príliš nerozumieť malo odnesti od ne razumeti förstå bara lite av ไม่สามารถเข้าใจ iyice anlayamamak/kavrayamamak 不領會 мало що зрозуміти سمجھ نہیں پانا không thể hiểu được 不领会

little means `not much': You have little reason to boast .

a little means `some', `a small quantity': There's a little milk left .