paltry

adjective

pal·​try ˈpȯl-trē 

paltrier; paltriest

1

: inferior, trashy

built paltry houses unfit for occupancy

2

: mean, despicable

a paltry trick

3

: trivial

a paltry excuse

they in their greatness don't have to bother with such paltry restrictions

—Vanessa Feltz

4

: meager, measly

made a paltry donation

Sales have increased by a paltry two percent.

paltriness noun

Did you know?

Before "paltry" was an adjective, it was a noun meaning "trash." That now obsolete noun in turn came from "palt" or "pelt," dialect terms meaning "a piece of coarse cloth," or broadly, "trash." The adjective "paltry" first meant "trashy," but currently has a number of senses, all generally meaning "no good." A "paltry house" might be run-down and unfit for occupancy; a "paltry trick" is a trick that is low-down and dirty; a "paltry excuse" is a trivial one; and a "paltry sum" is small and insufficient.

Synonyms

• cheap
• contemptible
• cruddy
• deplorable
• despicable
• dirty
• grubby
• lame
• lousy
• mean
• nasty
• pitiable
• pitiful
• ratty
• scabby
• scummy
• scurvy
• sneaking
• sorry
• wretched

Examples of paltry in a Sentence

a paltry, underhanded scheme to get someone fired

the hotel's shabby, outdated exercise room was its paltry attempt at a health spa

Recent Examples on the Web

To start: November’s payrolls data showed an increase of 227,000, slightly better than expected and a big step up from October’s paltry 36,000. —Jeff Cox, CNBC, 7 Dec. 2024

Their situation is precarious: Early on, in a sign of the household’s impoverishment, Tomás cuts around the mold on a piece of sourdough bread to supplement a paltry meal. —Lovia Gyarkye, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Dec. 2024

No longer would the crew need to cram about a dozen sets into a paltry 6,000 square feet of valuable Manhattan real estate every week. —David Lachapelle, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2024

Why spend all day dismantling a yellow-jacket nest for the paltry reward of larvae when there’s dumpster pizza to be had? —Paige Williams, The New Yorker, 25 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

obsolete paltry trash, from dialect palt, pelt piece of coarse cloth, trash; akin to Middle Low German palte rag

First Known Use

1565, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!

Kids Definition

paltry

adjective

pal·​try ˈpȯl-trē 

paltrier; paltriest

1

: petty sense 3, mean

a paltry trick

2

: trivial sense 2, worthless

a paltry sum

paltriness noun