little people

1 of 2

plural of little person

little people

2 of 2

plural noun

1
: tiny imaginary beings (such as fairies, elves, and leprechauns) of folklore
2
3
: common people

Examples of little people in a Sentence

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.
Plural noun
In director Terry Gilliam's first film in his Trilogy of Imagination, Ralph Richardson plays a Supreme Being who employs little people to fix holes in the space-time continuum. James Mercadante, EW.com, 5 June 2025 Questions about whether making a movie in which little people are treated like retrograde caricatures was a cool thing to do in this day and age. David Fear, Rolling Stone, 19 Mar. 2025 Filmmaker and director Julie Wyman went into creating her newest documentary, The Tallest Dwarf, with the ambition of telling the stories of little people in a totally different way. Virgie Tovar, Forbes.com, 16 June 2025 Some appear simply abstract, others have funny little people doodled here and there, many are filled with big, bulbous shapes. Lori Waxman, Chicago Tribune, 5 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for little people

Word History

First Known Use

Plural Noun

1699, in the meaning defined at sense 3

Time Traveler
The first known use of little people was in 1699

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Little people.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/little%20people. Accessed 4 Jul. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on little people

Love words? Need even more definitions?

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