"little" meaning in English

See little in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Adjective

IPA: /'lɪtl̩/ Audio: en-us-little.ogg [US], en-uk-little.ogg [UK], en-nz-little.ogg [New-Zealand] Forms: little [positive], littler [comparative], littlest [superlative]
Head templates: {{adj|little|littler|littlest}} [POS TABLE]
  1. If something is little, its size is not big.
    Sense id: simple-little-en-adj-b4F63UdB
  2. A little while, distance, etc. is not long.
    Sense id: simple-little-en-adj-ZdxygBQH Categories (other): Attributive modifiers
  3. A little person or animal is young.
    Sense id: simple-little-en-adj-BYvovsKb

Determiner

IPA: /'lɪtl̩/ Audio: en-us-little.ogg [US], en-uk-little.ogg [UK], en-nz-little.ogg [New-Zealand] Forms: little, less [comparative], least [superlative]
Head templates: {{determiner-comp|little|less|least}} [POS TABLE]
  1. Little money, room, help, etc. is a small amount of it; not much. Tags: singular Synonyms: bit
    Sense id: simple-little-en-det-fchkJvuZ Categories (other): Indefinite determiners, Non-count determiners, Singular determiners
{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "little",
      "tags": [
        "positive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "littler",
      "tags": [
        "comparative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "littlest",
      "tags": [
        "superlative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "little",
        "2": "littler",
        "3": "littlest"
      },
      "expansion": "[POS TABLE]",
      "name": "adj"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "I just ate a tiny little piece of the cake."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "If something is little, its size is not big."
      ],
      "id": "simple-little-en-adj-b4F63UdB"
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Attributive modifiers",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Could you just wait a little while more?"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A little while, distance, etc. is not long."
      ],
      "id": "simple-little-en-adj-ZdxygBQH",
      "raw_tags": [
        "usually before a noun"
      ]
    },
    {
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Two little boys were fighting on the playground."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A little person or animal is young."
      ],
      "id": "simple-little-en-adj-BYvovsKb"
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/'lɪtl̩/"
    },
    {
      "sampa": "/\"lItl/"
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-us-little.ogg",
      "raw_tags": [
        "Audio"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-uk-little.ogg",
      "raw_tags": [
        "Audio"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-nz-little.ogg",
      "raw_tags": [
        "Audio"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "New-Zealand"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "little"
}

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "little",
      "raw_tags": [
        "determiner"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "less",
      "tags": [
        "comparative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "least",
      "tags": [
        "superlative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "little",
        "2": "less",
        "3": "least"
      },
      "expansion": "[POS TABLE]",
      "name": "determiner-comp"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "det",
  "senses": [
    {
      "antonyms": [
        {
          "word": "much"
        },
        {
          "word": "lot"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Indefinite determiners",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Non-count determiners",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Singular determiners",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "They understood little or no French."
        },
        {
          "text": "He was busy and had little time for children."
        },
        {
          "text": "Try to spend as little of your money as possible."
        },
        {
          "text": "We saw little of her after the first day."
        },
        {
          "text": "Little is known about the problem."
        },
        {
          "text": "The building was destroyed leaving little more than rock and glass."
        },
        {
          "text": "She's a quiet person with little to say about these things."
        },
        {
          "text": "This has little to do with him and a lot to do with you."
        },
        {
          "text": "We saved what little was left."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Little money, room, help, etc. is a small amount of it; not much."
      ],
      "id": "simple-little-en-det-fchkJvuZ",
      "raw_tags": [
        "indefinite",
        "non-count"
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "bit"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "singular"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/'lɪtl̩/"
    },
    {
      "sampa": "/\"lItl/"
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-us-little.ogg",
      "raw_tags": [
        "Audio"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-uk-little.ogg",
      "raw_tags": [
        "Audio"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-nz-little.ogg",
      "raw_tags": [
        "Audio"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "New-Zealand"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "tags": [
    "comparative"
  ],
  "word": "little"
}
{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "little",
      "tags": [
        "positive"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "littler",
      "tags": [
        "comparative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "littlest",
      "tags": [
        "superlative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "little",
        "2": "littler",
        "3": "littlest"
      },
      "expansion": "[POS TABLE]",
      "name": "adj"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "I just ate a tiny little piece of the cake."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "If something is little, its size is not big."
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "Attributive modifiers"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Could you just wait a little while more?"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A little while, distance, etc. is not long."
      ],
      "raw_tags": [
        "usually before a noun"
      ]
    },
    {
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "Two little boys were fighting on the playground."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "A little person or animal is young."
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/'lɪtl̩/"
    },
    {
      "sampa": "/\"lItl/"
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-us-little.ogg",
      "raw_tags": [
        "Audio"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-uk-little.ogg",
      "raw_tags": [
        "Audio"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-nz-little.ogg",
      "raw_tags": [
        "Audio"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "New-Zealand"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "little"
}

{
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "little",
      "raw_tags": [
        "determiner"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "less",
      "tags": [
        "comparative"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "least",
      "tags": [
        "superlative"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "little",
        "2": "less",
        "3": "least"
      },
      "expansion": "[POS TABLE]",
      "name": "determiner-comp"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "det",
  "senses": [
    {
      "antonyms": [
        {
          "word": "much"
        },
        {
          "word": "lot"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        "Indefinite determiners",
        "Non-count determiners",
        "Singular determiners"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "They understood little or no French."
        },
        {
          "text": "He was busy and had little time for children."
        },
        {
          "text": "Try to spend as little of your money as possible."
        },
        {
          "text": "We saw little of her after the first day."
        },
        {
          "text": "Little is known about the problem."
        },
        {
          "text": "The building was destroyed leaving little more than rock and glass."
        },
        {
          "text": "She's a quiet person with little to say about these things."
        },
        {
          "text": "This has little to do with him and a lot to do with you."
        },
        {
          "text": "We saved what little was left."
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Little money, room, help, etc. is a small amount of it; not much."
      ],
      "raw_tags": [
        "indefinite",
        "non-count"
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "bit"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "singular"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/'lɪtl̩/"
    },
    {
      "sampa": "/\"lItl/"
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-us-little.ogg",
      "raw_tags": [
        "Audio"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-uk-little.ogg",
      "raw_tags": [
        "Audio"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    },
    {
      "audio": "en-nz-little.ogg",
      "raw_tags": [
        "Audio"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "New-Zealand"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "tags": [
    "comparative"
  ],
  "word": "little"
}

Download raw JSONL data for little meaning in English (2.6kB)


This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-12-21 from the simplewiktionary dump dated 2024-12-20 using wiktextract (d8cb2f3 and 4e554ae). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.