little

little

noun

1. a small amount or duration

e.g. he accepted the little they gave him

adj

1. small in a way that arouses feelings (of tenderness or its opposite depending on the context)

e.g. 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

2. (informal) small and of little importance

e.g. 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

Synonym: fiddlingfootlinglilliputiannigglingpiddlingpifflingpettypicayunetrivial

3. limited or below average in number or quantity or magnitude or extent

e.g. a little dining room
a little house
a small car
a little (or small) group

Synonym: small

4. (of a voice) faint

e.g. a little voice
a still small voice

Synonym: small

5. lowercase

e.g. little a
small a
e.e.cummings's poetry is written all in minuscule letters

Synonym: minusculesmall

6. (of children and animals) young, immature

e.g. what a big little boy you are
small children

Synonym: small

7. low in stature
not tall

e.g. he was short and stocky
short in stature
a short smokestack
a little man

Synonym: short

adv

1. not much

e.g. he talked little about his family

限定词、量词和副词用法（DETERMINER, QUANTIFIER, AND ADVERB USES）

1. （数量上）微少的，少到几乎没有的（可用so，too，very修饰）
You use little to indicate that there is only a very small amount of something. You can use 'so', 'too', and 'very' in front of little.

e.g. I had little money and little free time...
我没什么钱，也没多少空闲时间。
e.g. I find that I need very little sleep these days...
我发现最近我只需要睡很少时间。

2. （频率或程度）微小地，小到几乎没有地
Little means not very often or to only a small extent.

little的意思

e.g. On their way back to Marseille they spoke very little...
返回马赛的路上，他们没怎么说话。
e.g. Only Africa is at present little affected by hard drugs.
目前只有非洲没怎么受到硬毒品的影响。

3. （数量上）不多的（亦作a very little）
A little of something is a small amount of it, but not very much. You can also say a very little.

e.g. Mrs Caan needs a little help getting her groceries home...
卡安太太需要有人帮把手将食品杂货拿回家。
e.g. A little food would do us all some good...
吃点东西，对我们大家都会有好处。

4. 短时间地；一会儿地
If you do something a little, you do it for a short time.

little的近义词

e.g. He walked a little by himself in the garden.
他一个人在花园里散了一会儿步。

5. （程度上）一点地，少量地
A little or a little bit means to a small extent or degree.

e.g. He complained a little of a nagging pain between his shoulder blades...
他有几句提到说肩胛骨之间一直在疼。
e.g. He was a little bit afraid of his father's reaction...
他有点害怕父亲的反应。

6. 逐渐地；一点一点地
If something happens little by little, it happens very gradually.

e.g. In the beginning he had felt well, but little by little he was becoming weaker...
一开始他感觉很好，但慢慢地就变虚弱了。
e.g. I would have to learn, little by little, to exist alone.
我得慢慢学会独自生活。

You can use the adjective little to talk about things that are small. ...a little house. ...little children. However, little is not normally used to emphasize or draw attention to the fact that something is small. For instance, you do not usually say 'The town is little' or 'I have a very little car', but you can say The town is small' or I have a very small car'. Little is a less precise word than small, and may be used to suggest the speaker's feelings or attitude towards the person or thing being described. For that reason, little is often used after another adjective. What a nice little house you've got here!... Shut up, you horrible little boy! Little and a little are both used as determiners in front of uncount nouns, but they do not have the same meaning. For example, if you say 'I have a little money', this is a positive statement and you are saying that you have some money. However, if you say 'I have little money', this is a negative statement and you are saying that you have almost no money.
little作形容词时表示“小的”，如：a little house（小房子），little children（小孩子）。但little一般不用于强调某物之小，如通常不会说 The town is little或 I have a very little car, 但可以说The town is small（这个城镇很小）或 I have a very small car（我有一辆很小的汽车）。little不如small精确，而且可用于表示说话人对于所谈论的人或物的感情或态度。因而，little常跟在另一个形容词之后，如：What a nice little house you've got here（你这小房子真漂亮啊），Shut up, you horrible little boy（闭嘴，你这个讨厌的小家伙）。little和a little都可用作限定词修饰不可数名词，但其含义不同。例如，I have a little money（我有一点钱）是肯定陈述，表示有一些钱，而I have little money（我没什么钱）是否定陈述，表示几乎没钱。

形容词用法（ADJECTIVE USES）

The comparative littler and the superlative littlest are sometimes used in spoken English for meanings 1, 3, and 4, but otherwise the comparative and superlative forms of the adjective little are not used.
口语中义项1、3、4有时用比较级littler和最高级littlest，但除此之外little作形容词时都不用比较级和最高级。

1. 小的（比small略欠正式）
Little things are small in size. Little is slightly more informal than small .

e.g. We sat around a little table, eating and drinking wine.
我们围坐在一张小桌旁吃吃喝喝。
e.g. ...the little group of art students.
那一小群艺术专业的学生

2. 娇小的；小巧的
You use little to indicate that someone or something is small, in a pleasant and attractive way.

e.g. She's got the nicest little house not far from the library.
她有一幢非常漂亮的小房子，就在离图书馆不远处。
e.g. ...a little old lady...
身材娇小的老太太

3. 幼小的
A little child is young.

e.g. I have a little boy of 8...
我有一个8岁的小男孩。
e.g. When I was little I was very hyperactive.
我小时候异常好动。

4. (兄弟或姐妹)年纪较小的
Your little sister or brother is younger than you are.

e.g. Whenever Daniel's little sister was asked to do something she always had a naughty reply.
每次让丹尼尔的妹妹做什么事，她总是要淘气地回嘴。

5. （距离、时间、事件等）短的
A little distance, period of time, or event is short in length.

e.g. Just go down the road a little way, turn left, and cross the bridge...
沿这条路走一小段，向左转，然后过桥。
e.g. Why don't we just wait a little while and see what happens...
为什么不再等一下看看事态的发展。

6. （声音、手势等）快速的
A little sound or gesture is quick.

e.g. I had a little laugh to myself...
我自顾自地笑了一下。
e.g. She stood up quickly, giving a little cry of astonishment...
她迅速站了起来，惊叫了一声。

7. 微不足道的；细小的；琐碎的
You use little to indicate that something is not serious or important.

e.g. ...irritating little habits...
烦人的小毛病
e.g. Harry found himself getting angry over little things that had never bothered him before.
哈里发现自己会因为小事而生气，而以前他从不会在意这些事情。

1. 少许：问到有关贪污是否影响了他们的生活,21%的人认为非常大(very much)、26%的人认为一些(some)、22%的人认为少许(little)和26%的人认为完全没有(not at all).

2. little

2. 利特尔：......利特尔(Little)认为,专业发展的构成,必须包括这样一些活动:深化讨论、开放论争、丰富各种行动的可能性. 从教学行为的本质上看,就是使教师能够从机械运用课程和技术的方法中摆脱出来,灵活地运用教学方法和技术,帮助学生探究性地学习.