Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
small-time

small-time

47 5.9
Not important and not well known, often used for people or small businesses
  • adjective
  • /ˈsmɔlˌtaɪm/
translation icon : de poca monta
  • Why waste our best people on a small-time job?
  • small-time criminal

You know, there were casinos in Vegas before Bugsy Siegel, small time casinos.

Examples

  • Unfortunately, buzzword compliance helps pay the bills when you are a freelance or small-time developer.

    Blog text (14)

  • It's a story about a small-time studio and their two unsuccessful movies.

    Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles (2001)

  • Very practical and good information that helps me, a small-time business owner just getting started!

    Blog text (30)

  • Will that be good for us small-time authors in the long run?

    Blog text (12)

  • We're small-time, but we got satellites and cell phones like everyone else.

    Footloose (2011)

  • I was a small-time vendor, selling my fish from house to house.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • A cattlehand, a preacher, a small-time local businessman.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • A small-time sports reporter looking to break into the big time? Nyquist shook his head.

    Fiction book (1998)

  • His record showed a steady climb from juvenile offender to small-time thief.

    Drugstore Cowboy (1989)

  • He's a small-time crook who's been in and out of prison.

Synonyms

little
vssmall-time
∞ 1.0

Not very important

is neutral and emphasizes smallness in importance, status, or scale
minor
vssmall-time
600 2.4

Not very important or serious

is about low importance and also small in overall scale
slight
vssmall-time
594 1.2

Small in amount or degree

focuses more on low importance, status, or overall scale
trivial
vssmall-time
121 3.9

Not important or serious

also highlights small status or modest scope beyond mere lack of value
petty
vssmall-time
120 3.7

Small and unimportant in position or power

is broader, covering general low importance or limited scale
insignificant
vssmall-time
104 4.1

Not important or too small to matter

adds that lack of importance often includes small status or scale
unimportant
vssmall-time
54 1.9

Not worth attention or notice

covers the same lack of note but also smallness in scale
minuscule
vssmall-time
37 4.4

Very small in size or amount

covers low importance or modest status, not only physical tininess
negligible
vssmall-time
31 5.6

Very small or unimportant and not worth worrying about

adds a sense of limited status or modest scale rather than only size
small-scale
vssmall-time
30 2.7

Used for projects or models that are not large

focuses more generally on low importance or modest status rather than size alone
lightweight
vssmall-time
  • Offensive
15 3.5

Not very important or influential

is similar but stresses limited status and modest overall scale
nickel-and-dime
vssmall-time
  • Informal
1 7.2

Small and not important, usually involving little money

is broader, indicating low importance or limited status beyond money
minute
vssmall-time
5.8

Extremely small and hard to see

is about low importance or status rather than just tiny size
lilliputian
vssmall-time
9.9

Very small or unimportant

is more neutral and commonly used for minor status or limited scale

Antonyms

major
∞ 1.0

Very serious or important

significant
∞ 2.5

Important and big enough to make a difference

How Important

minor
600 2.4
small-time
47 5.9
trivial
121 3.9

Surface Forms

small-time positive

Morphology

small-time = small + time (semi-transparent) = small + time

The compound is built from 'small' + 'time' but its idiomatic meaning 'insignificant or petty' is a conventionalized extension rather than a literal 'short duration'.

Etymology

Small-time comes from the two simple words small and time, and it paints a picture of work or business that is small or limited. So, to call someone small-time means they are 'not important' or 'low-level'.