adjective
small
smawl
adjective
1
Limited in size, amount, or importance; not large.
"They live in a small apartment near the city center."
"It was only a small mistake, easily fixed."
2
Young, as in a child.
"When I was small, we used to visit my grandparents every summer."
noun
1
A size of clothing smaller than medium.
"Do you have this shirt in a small?"
How to Use Small
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishNot big — limited in size, scale, or significance.
Common pairings
small business
a small chance
feel small
Word Forms
smaller comparative, smaller comparative, smalled past tense, smalls plural, Smalls plural, smalls singular, smallest superlative, smallest superlative
Study it as flashcards or scroll it in Flow — saved to your collection.
Test yourself on “small”
A quick quiz — meaning, synonyms & usage
→
Fill the Gap
Can you complete this real example?
They live in a _____ apartment near the city center.
Etymology
From Old English "smæl," meaning narrow or slender, tracing back to a very old Proto-Indo-European root simply meaning "little."