little
adjective · adverb · noun
Simple meaning
Small in quantity or degree.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
lituhlSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈlɪtəl
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
quantifier used with mass nouns
Small in quantity or degree; not much or almost none or (with `a') at least some
Small and underdeveloped, particularly (of a male) in the genitals.
Small in size.
Very young, of childhood age.
of a sibling
Younger.
Having few members.
adverb
Not much
“He talked little about his family.”
Not at all.
noun
A small amount or duration
“He accepted the little they gave him.”
An adult in a child-like role, or in the more junior of two paired roles.
countable
One who has mentally age regressed to a childlike state.
The preliminary examination for a degree.
countableinformal
A child, particularly an infant.
A characteristical surname.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: (quantifier used with mass nouns) small in quantity or degree; not much or almost none or (with `a') at least some
Used this way, little is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It stays understated rather than dramatic. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Mild
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- No strong connotation
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use little
- “He talked little about his family.”adverb
- “He accepted the little they gave him.”noun
- “A little dining room.”adjective
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Similar Words, What’s the Difference?
Close in meaning, but not always interchangeable.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Annual barley native to western North America and widespread in southern United States and tropical America.
A constellation outside the zodiac that rotates around the North Star.
Tiny glossy black ant.
Small bluish-grey heron of the western hemisphere.
A younger brother.
The small common North American bat.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.