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Từ điển Oxford Advanced Learner 8th
little
lit·tle [little littler littlest] adjective, determiner, pronoun, adverb BrE [ˈlɪtl] NAmE [ˈlɪtl]
adjective usually before noun The forms littler /[ˈlɪtlə(r)] / and littlest /[ˈlɪtlɪst] / are rare. It is more common to use smaller and smallest.
1. not big; small; smaller than others
•a little house
•a little group of tourists
•a little old lady
•the classic little black dress
• ‘Which do you want?’ ‘I'll take the little one.’
• She gave a little laugh.
• (BrE)We should manage, with a little bit of luck.
•Here's a little something (= a small present) for your birthday.
2. used after an adjective to show affection or dislike, especially in a ↑patronizing way (= one that suggests that you think you are better than sb)
• The poor little thing! It's lost its mother.
• What a nasty little man!
•She's a good little worker.
•He'd become quite the little gentleman.
3. young
•a little boy/girl
•my little brother/sister (= younger brother/sister)
• I lived in America when I was little.
4. (of distance or time)short
• A little while later the phone rang.
• Shall we walk a little way?
5. not important; not serious
• I can't remember every little detail.
• You soon get used to the little difficulties.
more at great/tall oaks from little acorns grow at ↑oak, (it's) no/little/small wonder (that)… at ↑wonder n.
Word Origin:
Old English lȳtel, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch luttel, German dialect lützel.
Thesaurus:
little adj.
1. usually before noun (not usually used in the comparative or superlative)
•What a dear little baby!
small • • tiny • • miniature • • compact • • minute • • microscopic •
Opp: big, Opp: large
a little/small/tiny/miniature house/town/room
a little/small/tiny/minute/microscopic detail
a little/small/tiny baby/child
Little or small? Small is the most usual opposite of big or large. Little is often used to show how you feel about sb/sth, especially after other adjectives such as ugly, nice or cute.
2. usually before noun (especially spoken)
•What a fuss over one little mistake!
small • • slight • • minimal • • marginal • • minor • |usually disapproving trivial • • petty •
Opp: big, Opp: great
a little/small/slight/minimal/marginal change/improvement
a little/small/slight/trivial error/mistake/problem
a little/small/slight defect/accident
Example Bank:
•He was a nasty little man.
•He's still very little and doesn't understand yet.
•It was a lovely little village before the war.
•Poor little thing! It's broken its wing.
•The room was full of funny little animals.
•A little boy was standing on the doorstep.
•All those problems because of one little mistake!
•Here's a little something for your birthday.
•I can't remember every little detail.
•I give thanks for every little thing.
•I was a little bit afraid of him.
•It's just one of life's little mysteries.
•She wore a version of the classic little black dress.
•The system has some odd little quirks.
•They lived in a little house just down the valley.
•We had a little adventure yesterday.
•What a cute little baby!
•What a horrible little man!
•You wouldn't expect a sweet little old lady to react like that.
•You'll feel a little sting.
•You'll soon get used to these little difficulties.
•a little error/mistake/defect/problem/argument/accident/incident/adventure/mystery/quirk/secret
Idioms: ↑little bird told me ▪ ↑little by little
Derived Word: ↑littleness
determiner, pronoun
1. used with uncountable nouns to mean ‘not much’
• There was little doubt in my mind.
• Students have little or no choice in the matter.
•I understood little of what he said.
•She said little or nothing (= hardly anything) about her experience.
•Tell him as little as possible.
2. a littleused with uncountable nouns to mean ‘a small amount’, ‘some’
•a little milk/sugar/tea
• If you have any spare milk, could you give me a little?
• I've only read a little of the book so far.
• (formal)It caused not a little/no little (= a lot of) confusion.
•After a little (= a short time) he got up and left.
Word Origin:
Old English lȳtel, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch luttel, German dialect lützel.
adverb (less, least)
1. not much; only slightly
• He is little known as an artist.
• I slept very little last night.
•Little did I know that this spelled the end of my career.
2. a little (bit) to a small degree
• She seemed a little afraid of going inside.
•These shoes are a little (bit) too big for me.
• (informal) Everything has become just that little bit harder.
• (formal)She felt tired and more than a little worried.
Word Origin:
Old English lȳtel, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch luttel, German dialect lützel.
British/American:
a bit / a little
In BrE it is common to use a bit to mean ‘slightly’ or ‘to a small extent’: ▪ These shoes are a bit tight. ◇ ▪ I’ll be a bit later home tomorrow. ◇ ▪ Can you turn the volume up a bit?
It is more common in NAmE to say a little, or (informal) a little bit. You can also use these phrases in BrE: ▪ These shoes are a little bit too tight. ◇ ▪ I’ll be a little later home tomorrow. ◇ ▪ Can you turn the volume up a little bit?
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