What does “little” mean?
- 1
adjectivesmall in size or young
They have a little house by the lake.
- 2
determinernot much (with “a”, a small amount)
There’s a little milk left in the fridge.
Little at a glance
- Part of speech
- adjective & determiner
- CEFR level
- A1 (beginner)
- Pronunciation
- /ˈlɪtəl/ · LIT-ul
- Forms
- less, least
How to use “little” correctly
“A little” is positive (some), “little” alone is negative (almost none): “I have a little time” vs. “I have little time.”
Common phrases with “little”
- a little bit
- little by little
- little brother
- very little
Synonyms, opposites and related words
Synonyms (similar meaning)
- small
- tiny
“little” is on these word lists
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