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small

[smawl]

Origin

adjective

of limited size; of comparatively restricted dimensions; not big; little: a small box.

slender, thin, or narrow: a small waist.

not large as compared with others of the same kind: a small elephant.

(of letters) lower-case (def. 1).

not great in amount, degree, extent, duration, value, etc.: a small salary.

EXPAND

not great numerically: a small army.

of low numerical value; denoted by a low number.

having but little land, capital, power, influence, etc., or carrying on business or some activity on a limited scale: a small enterprise.

of minor importance, moment, weight, or consequence: a small problem.

10.

humble, modest, or unpretentious: small circumstances.

11.

characterized by or indicative of littleness of mind or character; mean-spirited; petty: a small, miserly man.

12.

of little strength or force: a small effort.

13.

(of sound or the voice) gentle; with little volume.

14.

very young: when I was a small boy.

15.

diluted; weak.

COLLAPSE

adverb

16.

in a small manner: They talked big but lived small.

17.

into small pieces: Slice the cake small.

18.

in low tones; softly.

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Small is always a great word to know.

So is interrobang. Does it mean:

a printed punctuation mark (‽), available only in some typefaces, designed to combine the question mark (?) and the exclamation point (!), indicating a mixture of query and interjection, as after a rhetorical question.

a screen or mat covered with a dark material for shielding a camera lens from excess light or glare.

LEARN MORE UNUSUAL WORDS WITH WORD DYNAMO...

noun

19.

something that is small: Do you prefer the small or the large?

20.

a small or narrow part, as of the back.

21.

those who are small: Democracy benefits the great and the small.

22.

smalls, small goods or products.

23.

smalls, British.

underclothes.

household linen, as napkins, pillowcases, etc.

EXPAND

24.

smalls, British Informal. the responsions at Oxford University.

25.

smalls, Mining. coal, ore, gangue, etc., in fine particles.

COLLAPSE

Idiom

26.

feel small, to be ashamed or mortified: Her unselfishness made me feel small.

Origin:
before 900; Middle English smale (adj., noun, and adv.), Old English smæl; cognate with Dutch smal, German schmal

Related forms

small·ness, noun

ul·tra·small, adjective

Synonyms
1. tiny. See little. 2. slight. 1, 3, 5. Smaller, less indicate a diminution, or not so large a size or quantity in some respect. Smaller, as applied to concrete objects, is used with reference to size: smaller apples. Less is used of material in bulk, with reference to amount, and in cases where attributes such as value and degree are in question: A nickel is less than a dime (in value). A sergeant is less than a lieutenant (in rank). As an abstraction, amount may be either smaller or less, though smaller is usually used when the idea of size is suggested: a smaller opportunity. Less is used when the idea of quantity is present: less courage. 9. trifling, petty, unimportant, minor, secondary, nugatory, inconsequential, paltry, insignificant. 11. small-minded, narrow-minded, mean, selfish, narrow. 12. feeble.

Antonyms
1. large, big.

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2012.
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Link To small

Collins

World English Dictionary

small (smɔːl)

—*adj*
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.	Compare capital See also lower case of, relating to, or designating the ordinary modern minuscule letter used in printing and cursive writing
10.	lacking great strength or force: a small effort
11.	in fine particles: small gravel
12.	obsolete (of beer, etc) of low alcoholic strength

—*adv*
13.	into small pieces: you have to cut it small
14.	in a small or soft manner
15.	feel small to be humiliated or inferior

—n
16.	the small an object, person, or group considered to be small: do you want the small or the large?
17.	a small slender part, esp of the back
18.	informal chiefly (Brit) (plural) items of personal laundry, such as underwear

[Old English smæl; related to Old High German smal, Old Norse smali small cattle]

'smallish

—*adj*

'smallness

—n

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Etymonline

Word Origin & History

small

O.E. smæl "slender, narrow, small," from P.Gmc. *smalaz (cf. O.S., Dan., Swed., M.Du., Du., O.H.G. smal, O.Fris. smel, Ger. schmal "narrow," Goth. smalista "smallest," O.N. smali "small cattle, sheep"), perhaps from a PIE base *(s)melo- "smaller animal" (cf. Gk. melon, O.Ir. mil "a small animal;"

EXPAND

O.C.S. malu "bad"). Original sense of "narrow" now almost obsolete, except in reference to waistline and intestines.

"My sister ... is as white as a lilly, and as small as a wand." [Shakespeare, "Two Gentlemen of Verona," 1591]

Sense of "not large, of little size" developed in O.E. With many extended senses, e.g. small fry, first recorded 1690s of little fish, 1885 of insignificant people. Small potatoes first attested 1940; small change "something of little value" is from 1902; small talk "chit-chat" (1751) first recorded in Chesterfield's "Letters." Small world as a comment upon an unexpected meeting of acquaintances is recorded from 1895. Small-town (adj.) "unsophisticated, provincial" is recorded from 1824. Small arms, indicating those capable of being carried in the hand (contrasted to ordnance) is recorded from 1710.

COLLAPSE

FOLDOC

Computing Dictionary

SMALL definition

1. Functional, lazy, untyped.
["SMALL - A Small Interactive Functional System", L. Augustsson, TR 28, U Goteborg and Chalmers U, 1986].
2. A toy language used to illustrate denotational semantics.
["The Denotational Description of Programming Languages", M.J.C. Gordon, Springer 1979].

American Heritage

Idioms & Phrases

small

In addition to the idioms beginning with small, also see big fish in a small pond; (small) cog in the wheel; give thanks for small blessings; it's a small world; little (small) frog in a big pond; make a (small) fortune; no (small) wonder; still small voice.