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Glite Dictionary
precious little

precious little

26 4.5
Only a very small amount remains
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : muy poco
  • In fact, there is precious little agreement even within each group.
  • precious little evidence
  • precious little help
  • precious little time

If you get that cocktail right, there really is precious little that you can't accomplish.

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Examples

  • We have a theory that works beautifully, but precious little experimental evidence.

    Academic text (2002)

  • Come on, everyone, we've got precious little time.

    South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999)

  • - You got precious little time, son.

    Beyond the Law (2019)

  • - Why is there precious little chance?

    Royal Wedding (1951)

  • You have precious little time.

    The X-Files (1998)

  • You know precious little of the human heart, or love, or the pain that comes with it.

    Crimson Peak (2015)

  • Wilson figures he has precious little to lose, and it may feel good to be needed.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • Under the Third Reich, they had precious little room for manoeuvre.

    Academic text (2011)

  • What he's published may be pretty good, but there's precious little to show.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • You have precious little time to finish your homework before the deadline.

Synonyms

little
vsprecious little
∞ 1.0

To a very small degree

is stronger, stressing hardly any amount rather than just small degree
minuscule
vsprecious little
37 4.4

Very small in size or amount

focuses on lack or scarcity rather than precise tiny measurement
measly
vsprecious little
  • Informal
29 6.3

Too small to be useful

is neutral, stating scarcity without the contemptuous judgment
not much of anything
vsprecious little
2 4.3

Almost nothing of value

has the same sense but appears as a shorter idiomatic phrase
miniscule
vsprecious little
  • US
1 4.3

Very small and easy to miss

highlights little or almost none rather than strict tiny size

Antonyms

ample
104 3.7

More than enough for what is needed

abundant
77 3.0

Present in large amounts or more than needed

plentiful
48 2.5

There is more than enough of something

How Much

many
9 1.0
some
∞ 1.0
a little
∞ 1.0
precious little
  • Informal
26 4.5
none
1.0

Surface Forms

precious little positive

Morphology

precious + little

The core meaning of small amount comes from 'little', while 'precious' here functions as an intensifier that yields the sense 'very/hardly any'. Because this use of 'precious' is metaphorical compared with its common meaning 'valuable', a B1 learner who knows the parts may partially infer a strong smallness but might not predict the exact nuance 'hardly any' without prior exposure.

Etymology

The adjective precious little creates a picture of a tiny, valuable thing by joining precious and little. One simple idea is that if you have only a precious little of something it is rare and almost gone, so the phrase now means 'very little' or 'hardly any'.