small-time

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of small-time Federal prosecutions on his watch have focused on bigger players more than small-time actors, going after gang and cartel leaders in drug and firearm trafficking cases rather than netting users. Sharon Bernstein, Sacramento Bee, 7 Jan. 2025 Fans of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán—a small-time autocrat who has impoverished his country, now one of the poorest in Europe, while enriching his family and friends—make common cause with Americans who have broken the law, gone to jail, stolen from their own charities, or harassed women. Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic, 7 Jan. 2025 Jeon Seok-ho is consistently amusing as Woo-seok, an excitable small-time criminal who joins Jun-ho in the search for the island. Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 26 Dec. 2024 Episode 7: Life of Sin Thanks to a tip from an unexpected source, the Nashville police turned their focus to a shady small-time music promoter. Keith Sharon, The Tennessean, 20 Dec. 2024 See All Example Sentences for small-time
Recent Examples of Synonyms for small-time
Adjective
  • But being able to distinguish when things are challenging versus straight-up unhealthy can keep you from spiraling into petty drama and sneaky backstabbing.
    Jenna Ryu, SELF, 3 Mar. 2025
  • On the page, Serafina is an archetypical Williams heroine — a woman who feels the world too deeply and is therefore brutalized by its harsh truths and petty cruelties (e.g. Maggie the Cat, Blanche DuBois, Amanda Wingfield).
    EW Staff, EW.com, 2 Mar. 2025
Adjective
  • The problem with these groups is that not only are you being sold something that is probably close to worthless, but by not dealing directly with an attorney there is no attorney-client privilege which protects the communications between these groups and their clients.
    Jay Adkisson, Forbes, 25 Feb. 2025
  • In a political and social climate ripe with fear and uncertainty, survival can feel like a worthless pursuit, but Black history teaches us how to live in liminality — to embrace the unknown, the in-between, the transitional.
    Mathew Holloway, San Diego Union-Tribune, 23 Feb. 2025
Adjective
  • That’s caused the run game to fade and forced Patrick Mahomes to lean more into a nickel-and-dime approach.
    Sam Farmer, Los Angeles Times, 16 Jan. 2025
  • Trying to nickel-and-dime such an important player could have done more harm than good.
    Darnell Mayberry, The Athletic, 1 Aug. 2024
Adjective
  • But, according to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, this isn't a one-horse race.
    Kevin Lynn, Newsweek, 8 Jan. 2025
  • The Brazilian star was expected to be in a one-horse race for the sport's highest indvidual accolade and become the first man from his country to win it since Kaka in 2007.
    Tom Sanderson, Forbes, 28 Oct. 2024

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Cite this Entry

“Small-time.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/small-time. Accessed 10 Mar. 2025.

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