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Glite Dictionary
no small feat

no small feat

5 5.6
A difficult and impressive achievement
  • idiom
translation icon : logro importante
  • Completing a marathon is no small feat, especially for someone who just started running.

Examples

  • Believe me, I use my hands all the time when I talk, so this was no small feat.

    Blog text (21)

  • Uncovering unspoken aspects of practices is no small feat.

    Academic text (2016)

  • Even though I say so myself, this is no small feat.

    Revenge of the Pink Panther (1978)

  • The project was no small feat.

    Academic text (2005)

  • However, taking the percentage down from 16% to 8% was no small feat, no?

    Blog text (19)

  • And this again was no small feat on the part of these architects.

  • However, creating the ideal policy set that encourages both innovation and quality is no small feat.

    Blog text (4)

  • In the end, Good'Nuff cleared the course - which was no small feat.

    Blog text (29)

  • The process of hauling the half-ton Chacmool figure from its resting place to nearby trails was no small feat.

    Academic text (2007)

  • To preserve the remains, Tschumi raised the whole museum up on massive concrete columns and suspended it over the excavations, no small feat in an earthquake-prone part of the world.

    Academic text (2009)

Synonyms

achievement
vsno small feat
344 2.3

A success you reach after working hard

emphasizes notable difficulty and impressiveness rather than mere completion
feat
vsno small feat
108 3.8

An impressive act that needs skill, courage, or great strength

is a significant accomplishment stressing difficulty rather than heroic skill
huge success
vsno small feat
26 2.0

A very big result that makes many people very pleased

highlights difficulty and impressiveness rather than sheer size of the result
piece of work
vsno small feat
  • Informal
23 6.2

Something impressive but difficult, for example a book or building, and sometimes a person who behaves strangely

is usually a sincere way to note difficulty rather than a sarcastic remark

Antonyms

trivial
121 3.9

Not important or serious

insignificant
104 4.1

Not important or too small to matter

How Impressive

extraordinary
  • Formal
859 3.8
no small feat
5 5.6
remarkable
588 2.8
notable
112 3.7
minor
600 2.4

Surface Forms

no small feat singular
no small feats plural

Morphology

no + small + feat

The meaning is directly derived from the constituents: 'no' negates 'small', so 'no small feat' = 'not a small feat' → a considerable or impressive achievement. This compositional negation pattern is straightforward and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows 'no', 'small', and 'feat' can infer the intended meaning.

Etymology

No small feat uses feat in the older sense of a deed or brave action, and small shows it is not little. So imagine someone doing a very difficult, impressive deed, and that's why the phrase means 'a big, difficult achievement'.