What is the meaning of least?

noun

  • Something that is of no importance.
    • usage: "it is the least I can do"; "that is the least of my concerns"

adjective

  • The superlative of `little' that can be used with mass nouns and is usually preceded by `the'; a quantifier meaning smallest in amount or extent or degree.
    • usage: "didn't care the least bit"; "he has the least talent of anyone"
  • Limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent.
    • usage: "a little dining room"; "a little house"; "a small car"; "a little (or small) group"
  • Quantifier used with mass nouns) small in quantity or degree; not much or almost none or (with `a') at least some. (
    • usage: "little rain fell in May"; "gave it little thought"; "little time is left"; "we still have little money"; "a little hope remained"; "there's slight chance that it will work"; "there's a slight chance it will work"
  • Of children and animals. ( young, immature)
    • usage: "what a big little boy you are"; "small children"
  • Informal) small and of little importance. (
    • usage: "a fiddling sum of money"; "a footling gesture"; "our worries are lilliputian compared with those of countries that are at war"; "a little (or small) matter"; "a dispute over niggling details"; "limited to petty enterprises"; "piffling efforts"; "giving a police officer a free meal may be against the law, but it seems to be a picayune infraction"
  • Of a voice. ( faint)
    • usage: "a little voice"; "a still small voice"
  • Low in stature; not tall.
    • usage: "he was short and stocky"; "short in stature"; "a short smokestack"; "a little man"
  • Lowercase.
    • usage: "little a"; "small a"; "e. E. Cummings's poetry is written all in minuscule letters"
  • Small in a way that arouses feelings (of tenderness or its opposite depending on the context. )
    • usage: "a nice little job"; "bless your little heart"; "my dear little mother"; "a sweet little deal"; "I'm tired of your petty little schemes"; "filthy little tricks"; "what a nasty little situation"

adverb

  • Used to form the superlative.
    • usage: "The garter snake is the least dangerous snake"
  • Not much.
    • usage: "he talked little about his family"
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APAWordNet. (2010). least. Retrieved September 20, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/least/definitions/1177420
ChicagoWordNet. 2010. "least" http://smartdefine.org/least/definitions/1177420 (accessed September 20, 2026).
HarvardWordNet 2010, least, Smart Define, viewed 20 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/least/definitions/1177420>.
MLAWordNet. "least" 23 October 2010. Web. 20 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/least/definitions/1177420>
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