small
/smɔl/
Reviewed on
Type
Adjective
Meaning
Little in size; not large.
We stayed in a small cabin near the river.
Little in number or amount.
Only a small number of people came to the meeting.
Young; used about children.
They moved to the suburbs when their kids were small.
Not important or serious.
It's just a small mistake, so don't worry about it.
How it's used
When this means “comes before a noun or after a linking verb such as be, look, or feel”
- small + noun / be small
The kitchen is small, but it's very bright.
When this means “'amount' goes with uncountable nouns; 'number' goes with plural nouns”
- a small amount/number of + noun
Add a small amount of salt.
When this means “comparative and superlative forms”
- smaller/smallest
This is the smallest phone in the store.
Collocations
- small town
- small room
- small business
- small size
- small amount
- small number
- small group
- small children
- small problem
- small detail
Idioms
small talk
polite conversation about things that are not important, such as the weather
I'm not good at small talk at parties.