Little | Mean of little in English Dictionary

/ˈlɪtl̟/

• small in size
1. She has little feet.
2. a little island/airplane
3. a little business
4. Our school is little.
5. a tiny little fish
6. This room is littler [=(more commonly) smaller] than that one.
• not tall
1. a little man
2. a littler [=(more commonly) smaller, shorter] man
• small in amount
1. I have very little money, so I can't lend you any.
2. I have less money than I did before.
3. I got very little sleep last night.
4. There's little hope of a rescue now.
5. You have little choice but to pay attention.
6. The new version bears little resemblance to the original.
7. These programs have very/precious little chance of succeeding.
8. The help he offered us was too little, too late. [=it was not as much help as we needed and it was offered too late to be helpful]
9. There has been little if any improvement. [=there has been almost no improvement]
10. These trinkets have little or no value.
11. There was no little sadness in his voice. [=there was a lot of sadness in his voice]

• not having many things or people included
1. We're having a little party this weekend.
2. a little group of people
3. a little village
4. her little hometown
• young or younger
1. I loved swimming when I was little.
2. a little boy/girl
3. He's very proud of his little boy/girl. [=of his young son/daughter]
4. How's your little one? [=your young(est) son or daughter]
5. my little brother/sister [=my brother/sister who is younger than I am]
• not lasting for a long time
1. I have to take a little break.
2. We sat down for a little chat.
3. We talked for a little while.
• not very important
1. There are a few little problems that still have to be dealt with.
2. He memorized every little detail of the scene.
3. There's just one little problem we haven't discussed: the company is going bankrupt!
4. I need to talk to you about the little matter of the money you owe me.
• not easily seen, heard, etc.
1. He gave her a little smile.
2. She made a little wave with her hand.
3. She spoke in a quiet little voice.
• not open to new ideas
1. people with little [=small, narrow] minds
• in a very small amount or degree
1. She works very little and sleeps even less.
2. Please speak as little as possible.
• hardly at all
1. We had little more than we needed.
2. She cared little (about) what he thought.
3. His art is little known in this country.
4. a little-known fact
5. She little knew what fate had in store for her. = Little did she know what fate had in store for her.
• not very often
1. She travels little. [=she rarely travels]
• by small steps or amounts
1. Little by little, he got better.
2. The protest gathered strength little by little.
3. I got to know them little by little.
• not much more or better than (something)
1. They ate little more than ice cream and hot dogs all day.
• a small amount or quantity
1. There is little we can do to help.
2. Little is known about her life.
3. They say precious little [=they do not say much] about their job.
4. They understand little of what is going on.
5. His argument did little to change their minds. [=his argument did not change their minds]
• not much but some
1. I don't want much: I want just a little bit/piece.
2. There's a little brown sugar in these cookies.
3. I have a little money, so I may be able to lend you some.
4. They offered him a little something to drink before dinner. [=they offered him something to drink]
5. There was more than a little sadness [=there was much sadness] in his voice.
• not much but somewhat or slightly
1. It bothered me a little.
2. His house is down the street a little further.
3. His house is down the street a little. = It's a little down the street.
4. I'm feeling a little better today.
5. Repairs will begin in a little [=slightly] more than a month.
6. He was not a little annoyed [=he was very annoyed] at the interruption.
7. Her vision of the future was more than a little upsetting. [=was very upsetting]
• for a brief time
1. Please stay here with me a little.
2. We can walk a little and then catch a cab.
• to some extent
1. This one is a little bit bigger than that one.
2. It bothered me a little bit.
• a short time
1. We talked for a little bit.
• a small amount of something
1. The buffet had a little bit of everything.
2. We have a little bit of time left.
3. Oh, I'll have just a little bit, thanks.