small
part of speech
adjective (small, smaller, smallest); noun (the small of your back); adverb (rare: think small)
meaning for a pupil
1) Small means little in size: a small dog. tree →
2) Small means little in number or amount: a small crowd, a small number. tree →
3) Small means young: when I was small. tree →
4) Small means not important: a small mistake. tree →
5) Smaller means less big than another one; smallest means less big than all the others. tree →
6) Small can mean mean or petty: «That was a small thing to do». tree →
7) (casual) «Small» is a size in shops and cafés: «a small chips, please». tree →
8) (formal) Exams say «of lesser magnitude», «minimal», «negligible» or «the lesser of» for small or smaller. tree →
9) (euphemism) «Small» or «petite» is a polite word for short or thin people; «a small problem» may hide a big one. tree →
sense in the lessons
the lesser of two numbers («subtract the smaller number from the bigger one»); in maths ordering numbers from smallest to biggest; in science small animals like insects, very small things seen with a microscope; in everyday life «small talk», «small print», «small change», «a small one» (a small drink); in casual talk «it's no small thing», «teeny», «tiny», «titchy» (UK); in rough talk «you're so small you can't reach» (a put-down about size); in the exam voice «the lesser quantity», «the minimal value», «a negligible amount»
examples
- We always subtract the smaller number from the bigger one. tree →
- Which number is smaller, 8 or 13? tree →
- Put the numbers in order from smallest to biggest. tree →
- Germs are too small to see without a microscope. tree →
- I made a small mistake in my spelling. tree →
- When I was small, I was scared of the dark. tree →
- A small chips and a Coke, ta. tree →
- We've got a small problem: the car won't start (it's a big problem). tree →
- Don't sweat the small stuff, just count 'em. tree →
- Oi, shorty, you're too small for the big slide. tree →
- Determine the lesser of the two quantities, 17 and 23. tree →
- The difference is negligible: 0.01 kilograms. tree →
- The dragon grows small at night! tree →
note
In subtraction with whole numbers, take the smaller number from the bigger one. Trap: the smaller number is not always the one told second. Opposite: big, large. The smallest whole number is 0. «The lesser of» and «the minimum» in an exam ask for the smaller number. «a small problem» said calmly may be a euphemism for a big one. Teasing someone about size is unkind.
In the corpora
- Burnout means being worn down by too much work and stress for too long, until even small tasks feel huge.
- Pocket money is a small regular amount given to children to practise choosing, saving and making mistakes with money.
- Child benefit is a small regular payment from the government to families with children, to help with things like shoes and food.
- A text saying a parcel is held and asking for a small payment is a common scam to steal bank details.
- Dentists check teeth every six months to a year to catch small problems, like holes, before they hurt.
Trees and pragmatics
Every meaning and example of «small» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.