PETTY (pettier, pettiest)
| Pronunciation (US): |  |
Dictionary entry overview: What does petty mean?
• PETTY (noun)
The noun PETTY has 1 sense:
1. larceny of property having a value less than some amount (the amount varies by locale)
Familiarity information: PETTY used as a noun is very rare.
• PETTY (adjective)
The adjective PETTY has 3 senses:
1. inferior in rank or status
2. (informal) small and of little importance
3. contemptibly narrow in outlook
Familiarity information: PETTY used as an adjective is uncommon.
Dictionary entry details
• PETTY (noun)
Meaning:
Larceny of property having a value less than some amount (the amount varies by locale)
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Synonyms:
petit larceny; petty; petty larceny
Hypernyms ("petty" is a kind of...):
larceny; stealing; theft; thievery; thieving (the act of taking something from someone unlawfully)
• PETTY (adjective)
Meaning:
Inferior in rank or status
Synonyms:
subaltern; petty; lower-ranking; junior-grade; lowly; secondary; inferior; subordinate
Context examples:
the junior faculty / a lowly corporal / petty officialdom / a subordinate functionary
Similar:
junior (younger; lower in rank; shorter in length of tenure or service)
Meaning:
(informal) small and of little importance
Synonyms:
trivial; piffling; piddling; picayune; niggling; footling; fiddling; petty; lilliputian; little
Context examples:
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
Similar:
unimportant (not important)
Domain usage:
colloquialism (a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech)
Meaning:
Contemptibly narrow in outlook
Synonyms:
small-minded; petty
Context examples:
petty little comments / disgusted with their small-minded pettiness
Similar:
narrow; narrow-minded (lacking tolerance or flexibility or breadth of view)
