small
adjective · adverb · noun · verb
Simple meaning
Not large or big.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
smawlIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈsmɔl
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
especially clothingfood or drink
That is small (the manufactured size).
Not large or big; insignificant; few in number.
Humiliated or insignificant.
Evincing little worth or ability; not large-minded; paltry; mean.
Not prolonged in duration; not extended in time; short.
adverb
On a small scale
In a small fashion
In or into small pieces.
noun
countableespecially with respect to clothing
One who fits an item of that size.
The slender part of the back
verb
intransitive
To become small; to dwindle.
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: (especially clothing, food or drink) That is small (the manufactured size).
Used this way, small 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.
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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.
Small cane of watery or moist areas in southern United States.
Of stocks of companies with a market capitalization of less than one billion dollars.
A character having the form of an upper-case letter but the same height as lower-case letters.
Of stocks of companies with a market capitalization of less than one billion dollars.
Of stocks of companies with a market capitalization of less than one billion dollars.
Highly malignant carcinoma composed of small round or egg-shaped cells with little cytoplasm.
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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.