Meaning

14 senses
  1. Small, not large, limited, particularly

  2. Small, not large, limited

    Small, limited in size.

    This is a little table.

    klein, wenig, lütt

    ма́ленькийmálenʹkij, ма́лыйmályj

    мале́нькийmalénʹkyj, мали́йmalýj

    (informal) small and of little importance

  3. Short, limited in extent.

    It’s only a little ways now.

    limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent

  4. Brief, limited in duration.

    I always feel better after a little sleep.

  5. Young, limited in growth.

    Where's the little boys' room?

    klein

    ма́ленькийmálenʹkij

    (of children and animals) young, immature

  6. (especially)Younger, regardless of size or height.

    You may be an Olympic weightlifter but you're still my little sister.

    klein, jung

    мла́дшийmládšij

  7. Undeveloped or underdeveloped, limited in development, particularly (offensive, of a male) in the genitals.

  8. Small, limited in number, having few members.

    That's a mighty little herd you've got there.

    wenig

  9. Insignificant, trivial, limited in importance.

    It’s of little importance.

  10. (offensive)Weak, inferior, unimportant, etc., used to belittle a person.

    Listen up, you little shit.

  11. (capitalized, often)Denoting a neighborhood whose residents or storekeepers are from that place.

  12. (capitalized, derogatory, often)Used with the name of a place to imply that the inhabitants have an insular attitude and are hostile to those they perceive as foreign.

Examples

9734 sentences
  1. There's only a little milk left.

    Лишилося лише трохи молока.

    ruМолока осталось совсем немного.

    deEs ist nur noch wenig Milch da.

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  2. Turn the radio up a little.

    Зроби радіо трохи гучніше.

    ruСделай радио чуть громче.

    deMach das Radio ein bisschen lauter.

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  3. Take things a little more seriously.

    Сприймай речі трохи серйозніше.

    ruВоспринимай вещи немного серьёзнее.

    deNimm die Dinge etwas ernster.

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  4. Can't you stay a little longer?

    Чи не могли би ви ще трохи побути?

    ruВы не можете остаться ещё ненадолго?

    deKannst du nicht noch etwas länger bleiben?

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  5. Give me a little more water.

    Дайте мені ще трохи води.

    ruДай мне ещё немного воды.

    deGib mir noch etwas mehr Wasser.

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Translations

9 languages
Українська
By meaning 1
small in size:
Русский
By meaning 2
small in size:
(of a sibling) younger:
Deutsch
By meaning 2
small in size:
(of a sibling) younger:

Origin

From Middle English litel, litell, luitel, lutel, lutil, luytel, from Old English lȳtel, l

From Middle English litel, litell, luitel, lutel, lutil, luytel, from Old English lȳtel, lyttel, from Proto-West Germanic *lūtil (“little”), from *lūtan (“to bow down, lout”), from Proto-Germanic *lūtaną (“to bow down, lout”), from Proto-Indo-European *lewd- (“to bend, crouch, duck”), equivalent to lout + -le.

Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Forms

littler/lesser, littlest/least
Comparativelittler / lesser Lesson
Superlativelittlest / least Lesson

regular

Synonyms

30 synonyms
Close in meaning
  • (of a voice) faint:small
  • lowercase:minusculesmall
  • (quantifier used with mass nouns) small in quantity or degree; not much or almost none or (with ‘a’) at least some:slight
  • (of children and animals) young, immature:small
  • limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent:small
  • low in stature; not tall; describing something or someone with a stature less than normal:short

Antonyms

3 antonyms

Word family

100 related words

Collocations

12 patterns
  • is a little
  • a little bit
  • a little more
  • little bit
  • a little longer
  • little more
  • look a little
  • have a little
  • a little too
  • just a little
  • got a little
  • little longer

See also

neighbours in the dictionary
little — meaning, examples, forms, synonyms | Krumeto