smidgen

noun

smid·​gen ˈsmi-jən 

variants or less commonly smidgeon or smidgin or smidge

ˈsmij 

: a small amount : bit

a smidgen of salt

a smidgen of common sense

Synonyms

• ace
• bit
• crumb
• dab
• dram
• driblet
• glimmer
• hint
• lick
• little
• mite
• nip
• ounce
• particle
• peanuts
• ray
• scintilla
• scruple
• shade
• shadow
• shred
• skosh
• smack
• smell
• snap
• soupçon
• spark
• spatter
• speck
• splash
• spot
• sprinkling
• strain
• streak
• suspicion
• tad
• touch
• trace

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

And on a practical level, if each step up only reduces the error rate by a smidgen, scaling won’t be feasible. —Ben Brubaker, Quanta Magazine, 9 Dec. 2024

More importantly, was there ever a smidgen of love buried inside this aloof woman? —Sarene Leeds, Vulture, 13 Sep. 2024

The Neighborhood opened Season 7 with 4.4 mil and a 0.5, down a smidgen in viewers yet up in the demo from its Season 6 averages. —Matt Webb Mitovich, TVLine, 23 Oct. 2024

Joe’s home life is again explored, in between (and amid) moments of professional crisis, but with a smidgen more transparency than that which kept her at arm’s length from husband Neal (Annable) and their two daughters in Season 1. —Matt Webb Mitovich, TVLine, 25 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

probably alteration of English dialect smitch soiling mark

First Known Use

1845, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

smidgen

noun

smid·​gen

variants also smidgeon or smidgin

ˈsmij-ən

or smidge

ˈsmij 

: a small amount : bit