petty

Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Legal, Financial, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia.

pet·ty

(pĕt′ē)

adj. pet·ti·er, pet·ti·est

1. Of small importance; trivial: a petty grievance. See Synonyms at trivial.

2. Showing an excessive concern with unimportant matters or minor details, especially in a narrow-minded way: petty partisanship.

a. Of lesser importance or rank; subordinate: a petty prince.

b. Law Variant of petit.

[Middle English peti, from Old French, variant of petit; see petit.]

pet′ti·ly adv.

pet′ti·ness n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

petty

(ˈpɛtɪ)

adj, -tier or -tiest

1. trivial; trifling; inessential: petty details.

2. of a narrow-minded, mean, or small-natured disposition or character: petty spite.

3. minor or subordinate in rank: petty officialdom.

4. (Law) law of lesser importance

[C14: from Old French petit]

ˈpettily adv

ˈpettiness n

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

pet•ty

(ˈpɛt i)

adj. -ti•er, -ti•est.

1. of little or no importance; inconsequential: petty grievances.

2. of lesser importance or merit; minor: petty considerations.

3. having or showing narrow ideas, interests, etc.: petty minds.

4. ungenerous in trifling matters: a petty person.

5. showing meanness of spirit: a petty revenge.

[1325–75; Middle English peti(t) small, minor < Old French petit < Gallo-Romance *pittīttus]

pet′ti•ly, adv.

pet′ti•ness, n.

syn: petty, paltry, trivial, trifling apply to something that is so insignificant as to be almost unworthy of notice. petty implies lack of significance or worth: petty quarrels. paltry applies to something that is contemptibly small or worthless: I was paid a paltry sum. trivial applies to something that is slight or insignificant, often being in contrast to something that is important: a trivial task. trifling is often interchangeable with trivial; however, trifling implies an even lesser, almost negligible, importance or worth: to ignore a trifling error.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Noun	1.	petty - larceny of property having a value less than some amount (the amount varies by locale) petit larceny, petty larceny larceny, stealing, theft, thievery, thieving - the act of taking something from someone unlawfully; "the thieving is awful at Kennedy International"
Adj.	1.	petty - inferior in rank or status; "the junior faculty"; "a lowly corporal"; "petty officialdom"; "a subordinate functionary" junior-grade, lower-ranking, subaltern, lowly, secondary junior - younger; lower in rank; shorter in length of tenure or service
	2.	petty - (informal) small and of little importance; "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" fiddling, footling, niggling, picayune, piddling, piffling, trivial, lilliputian, little colloquialism - a colloquial expression; characteristic of spoken or written communication that seeks to imitate informal speech unimportant - not important; "a relatively unimportant feature of the system"; "the question seems unimportant"
	3.	petty - contemptibly narrow in outlook; "petty little comments"; "disgusted with their small-minded pettiness" small-minded narrow-minded, narrow - lacking tolerance or flexibility or breadth of view; "a brilliant but narrow-minded judge"; "narrow opinions"

petty

adjective

1. trivial, inferior, insignificant, little, small, slight, trifling, negligible, unimportant, paltry, measly (informal), contemptible, piddling (informal), inconsiderable, inessential, nickel-and-dime (U.S. slang) Rows would start over petty things.
trivial major, important, significant, essential, considerable, momentous, consequential

2. small-minded, mean, cheap, grudging, shabby, spiteful, stingy, ungenerous, mean-minded I think that attitude is a bit petty.
small-minded liberal, generous, tolerant, open-minded, magnanimous, broad-minded

3. minor, lower, junior, secondary, lesser, subordinate, inferior Wilson was not a man who dealt with petty officials.

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

petty

adjective

1. Contemptibly unimportant:

inconsiderable, negligible, niggling, nugatory, paltry, picayune, piddling, small, small-minded, trifling.

Slang: measly.

Idiom: of no account.

2. Not broad or elevated in scope or understanding:

limited, little, narrow, narrow-minded, small, small-minded.

3. Ungenerously or pettily reluctant to spend money:

cheap, close, close-fisted, costive, hard-fisted, mean, miserly, niggard, niggardly, parsimonious, penny-pinching, penurious, pinching, stingy, tight, tightfisted.

4. Below another in standing or importance:

inferior, junior, lesser, low, lower, minor, minor-league, secondary, small, subaltern, subordinate, under.

Informal: smalltime.

Translations

حَقير، تافِهصَغير، زَهيد

malichernýbanálníbezvýznamnýdrobný

småligubetydeliguvæsentlig

kleinlich lächerlich unbedeutend gering geringfügig

insignificante mezquino nimio pequeño de poca monta

insignifiant mesquin petit

kicsinyes

lítilmótlegursmávægilegur, ómerkilegur

futilit...insi-meschinit...

smulkioms išlaidoms skirti pinigaismulkmeniškumas

maznozīmīgsnejaukssīks, nesvarīgszemisks

insignificante pequeno

malicherný

bayağı önemsiz

不重要的卑劣的次要的狭隘的琐碎的

petty

[ˈpetɪ]

A. ADJ (pettier (compar) (pettiest (superl)))

1. (= trivial) [detail] → insignificante, nimio; [squabble, rivalry, concerns] → pequeño, trivial

2. (= minor) [offence] → menor

3. (= small-minded, spiteful) → mezquino
you're being very petty about it → te estás portando de manera muy mezquina

B. CPD petty cash N → dinero m para gastos menores, caja f chica
petty cash book N → libro m de caja auxiliar
petty crime N → delito m menor
petty larceny N → robo m de menor cuantía
petty officer N → suboficial mf de marina
petty sessions NPL → tribunal msing de primera instancia
petty theft N → robo m de poca monta
petty thief N → ladrón/ona m/f de poca monta

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

petty

[ˈpɛti] adj

[person] (= mean) → mesquin(e)

(= unimportant) → insignifiant(e), sans importancepetty cash n → petite caisse fpetty crime n

(= illegal activities) → délits mpl mineurs

(= illegal act) → délit m mineurpetty criminal n → petit délinquant mpetty officer n → maître m

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

petty

adj (+er)

(= trivial) → unbedeutend, belanglos, unwichtig; excuse → billig; crime → geringfügig

(= small-minded) → kleinlich; (= spiteful) remark → spitz; you’re being very petty about it → du bist sehr kleinlich

(= minor) chieftain etc → untergeordnet; (pej) official → unbedeutend, untergeordnet; the petty wars of the time → die Kleinkriege jener Zeit

petty

petty average

n (Naut Jur) → Teilschaden m, → kleine Havarie

petty bourgeois

n, adj = petit bourgeois

petty bourgeoisie

n = petite bourgeoisie

petty cash

n → Portokasse f

petty crime

no pl (= illegal activities) → Kleinkriminalität f

(= illegal act) → Vergehen nt, → Bagatelldelikt nt

petty jury

n → ˜ Geschworene pl

petty larceny

n → einfacher Diebstahl

petty-minded

adj → kleinlich

petty officer

n → Fähnrich m → zur See

petty theft

n → einfacher Diebstahl

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

petty

[ˈpɛtɪ] adj (-ier (comp) (-iest (superl)))

a. (trivial, detail, complaint) → insignificante, di poca importanza

b. (minor, official) → subalterno/a

c. (small-minded, spiteful) → meschino/a

petty

(ˈpeti) adjective

1. of very little importance; trivial. petty details.

2. deliberately nasty for a foolish or trivial reason. petty behaviour.

ˈpettily adverb

ˈpettiness noun

petty cash

money used for small, everyday expenses in an office etc.

Mentioned in ?

References in classic literature ?

To be sure, ye say: "The delight in petty evils spareth one many a great evil deed." But here one should not wish to be sparing.

View in context

In countries where modern civilisation has become fully developed, a new class of petty bourgeois has been formed, fluctuating between proletariat and bourgeoisie and ever renewing itself as a supplementary part of bourgeois society.

View in context

In everything near and comprehensible he had only what was limited, petty, commonplace, and senseless.

View in context

And now there's a mean, petty feud set up against the thing in the town, by certain persons who want to make it a failure."

View in context

"Then, brother," I replied, "you can return to your China, post haste or at whatever haste you are bound to go, as I am not fit for so long a travel and, besides being ill, I am very much without money, while Emperor for Emperor and Monarch for Monarch, I have at Naples the great Count of Lemos, who, without so many petty titles of colleges and rectorships, sustains me, protects me and does me more favour than I can wish for."

View in context

It is impossible to read the history of the petty republics of Greece and Italy without feeling sensations of horror and disgust at the distractions with which they were continually agitated, and at the rapid succession of revolutions by which they were kept in a state of perpetual vibration between the extremes of tyranny and anarchy.

View in context

Such, in two words, was the woof of petty interests and petty conspiracies which united Blois with Orleans and Orleans with Paris; and which was about to bring into the last named city, where she was to produce so great a revolution, the poor little La Valliere, who was far from suspecting, as she returned joyfully, leaning on the arm of her mother, for what a strange future she was reserved.

View in context

As a bachelor, when he had watched other people's married life, seen the petty cares, the squabbles, the jealousy, he had only smiled contemptuously in his heart.

View in context

The Firm to which I was brutally consigned, as if I was a bale of merchandise, has worn out my patience by a series of petty insults; and I have felt compelled, from motives of self-respect, to withdraw my services, which were undervalued from the first.

View in context

B.C.), minister and kinsman of a petty kinglet under the Chou dynasty, whose `Li Sao', literally translated `Falling into Trouble', is partly autobiography and partly imagination.

View in context

Neither is it merely in the phrase; for whereas it hath been well said, that the arch-flatterer, with whom all the petty flatterers have intelligence, is a man's self; certainly the lover is more.

View in context

It is not true that suffering ennobles the character; happiness does that sometimes, but suffering, for the most part, makes men petty and vindictive.