small

Universal Words adjective, adverb, noun adjective (smaller, smallest) not large 1 not large in size, number, degree, amount, etc: a small house / town / car / man * A much smaller number of students passed than I had expected. * They're having a relatively small wedding. * a small claims court (= for legal claims for small amounts of money) * That dress is too small for you. * 'I don't agree,' he said in a small (= quiet) voice. 2 (abbreviation S) used to describe one size in a range of sizes of clothes, food, products used in the house, etc: small, medium, large * This is too big-have you got a small one? 3 not as big as sth else of the same kind: the small intestine young 4 young: They have three small children. * We travelled around a lot when I was small. * As a small boy he had spent most of his time with his grandparents. not important 5 slight; not important: I made only a few small changes to the report. * She noticed several small errors in his work. * Everything had been planned down to the smallest detail. * It was no small achievement getting her to agree to the deal. * Don't worry. It's only a small problem. business 6 [usuallybeforenoun] not doing business on a very large scale: a small farmer / shopkeeper * The government is planning to give more help to small businesses. letters 7 [usuallybeforenoun] not written or printed as CAPITALS: Should I write 'god' with a small 'g' or a capital? * She's a socialist with a small 's' (= she believes in socialist ideas but is not a member of a socialist party). not much 8 [onlybeforenoun] (used with uncountable nouns) little; not much: The government has small cause for optimism. * They have small hope of succeeding. smallness noun [U] IDIOMS be grateful / thankful for small mercies to be happy that a situation that is bad is not as bad as it could have been: Well, at least you weren't hurt. I suppose we should be grateful for small mercies. it's a small world (saying) used to express your surprise when you meet sb you know in an unexpected place, or when you are talking to sb and find out that you both know the same person look / feel small to look or feel stupid, weak, ashamed, etc: There's no need to make me look small in front of all these people. * I felt really small when I realized how much time he'd spent on it. moreatBIGadj., GREATadj., HOUR, STILLadj., SWEATv., WAYn., WONDERn. adverb (smaller, smallest) 1 into small pieces: Chop the cabbage up small. 2 in a small size: You can fit it all in if you write very small. noun 1 the ~ of the / sb's back [sing.] the lower part of the back where it curves in: He felt a sharp pain in the small of his back. 2 (smalls) [pl.] (old-fashioned, BrE, informal) small items of clothing, especially underwear ______________________________ WHICHWORD? small / little These adjectives are frequently used with the following nouns: small ~ little ~ number girl group smile children man business things house boys Small is the most usual opposite of big or large. It can be used in the comparative and superlative and with adverbs such as rather, quite, fairly and pretty: Our house is smaller than yours but I think the kitchen is bigger. * The town is pretty small. Little is usually used to show how you feel about a person or a thing, and especially after other adjectives such as ugly, nice, cute, etc: a cute little baby * You poor little thing! It can also show that you think a person or thing is not important: You'll just feel a little sting - it won't hurt. * a dreadful little man (BrE). Note that it is usually only used before a noun and that it is rarely used in the comparative and superlative. Little is also used with proper names: Little Italy is an area of New York where many Italians live. ______________________________