smidgen

noun

smid·​gen ˈsmi-jən How to pronounce smidgen (audio)
variants or less commonly smidgeon or smidgin or smidge
ˈsmij How to pronounce smidgen (audio)
Synonyms of smidgennext
: a small amount : bit
a smidgen of salt
a smidgen of common sense

Synonyms of smidgen

Relevance
See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of smidgen in a Sentence

I'll just have a smidgen of ice cream. the maid cleaned the house until there wasn't even a smidgen of dust left
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The only smidgen of doubt is whether there is, in fact, an even bigger hockey stick ready to kick in. — Clem Chambers, Forbes.com, 18 Feb. 2026 Pickett overthrew the practice-squad holdover by a smidgen, and Reed was able to lay out and haul in the ball. — Charlotte Observer, 26 May 2026 Each impact steals a tiny bit of the spacecraft’s speed, pushing it a smidgen closer to Earth. — Meghan Bartels, Scientific American, 26 Mar. 2026 The pace quickens, the characters start using their brains and there's even the smallest smidgen of levity mixed in with all the heads on pikes and grieving mothers. — Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 21 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for smidgen

Word History

Etymology

probably alteration of English dialect smitch soiling mark

First Known Use

1845, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of smidgen was in 1845

Rhymes for smidgen

See All Rhymes for smidgen

Browse Nearby Words

smiddy
smidgen
Smilacaceae
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Smidgen.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/smidgen. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

smidgen

noun
smid·​gen
variants also smidgeon or smidgin
ˈsmij-ən
 or smidge
ˈsmij How to pronounce smidgen (audio)
: a small amount : bit
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All