petty Meaning, Definition & Usage

1. noun larceny of property having a value less than some amount (the amount varies by locale)
   petit larceny; petty larceny.
   
2. adjective satellite inferior in rank or status
   junior-grade; lower-ranking; lowly; subaltern; secondary.
   
   • the junior faculty
   • a lowly corporal
   • petty officialdom
   • a subordinate functionary
3. adjective satellite (informal) small and of little importance
   little; footling; piffling; niggling; trivial; piddling; fiddling; picayune; lilliputian.
   
   • 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
4. adjective satellite contemptibly narrow in outlook
   small-minded.
   
   • petty little comments
   • disgusted with their small-minded pettiness

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