Definition

1. Noun:
   • A very small or inadequate amount of money paid as wages, allowance, or income: A "pittance" refers to a sum of money that is considered insufficient or meager, especially for the work performed or the needs it is meant to cover.
   • A small, often insufficient, amount or portion of something: By extension, it can describe any tiny, inadequate quantity or share of something, not limited to money.

Usage

The word "pittance" is used to express criticism or disapproval about how small an amount is. It is often used with words like "mere," "tiny," or "small" to emphasize its inadequacy. It is a formal word commonly found in discussions about wages, charity, or insufficient resources.

Examples

• Noun:
  • The interns were paid a pittance for their long hours of work.
  • He survives on a pittance from his pension.
  • The donation was a mere pittance compared to the funds needed for the project.

Advanced Usage

• "a mere pittance": This is a very common collocation used to stress the insignificance of the amount.
  • The company offered a mere pittance as a settlement, which the workers rejected.
• "live on/for a pittance": To survive with a very small amount of money.
  • Many artists in the city live on a pittance while pursuing their dreams.

Variants and Related Words

• Pittancer (noun, historical): An official in a monastery responsible for distributing allowances or pittances. (This is an archaic term and not commonly used in modern English.)
• Pittance does not have common verb or adjective forms. Its meaning is carried by the noun itself.

Synonyms

• Peanuts (informal): A very small sum of money.
• Chicken feed (informal): A trivial amount of money.
• Miserable sum: A pathetically small amount.
• Trifle: Something of little value or importance.

Antonyms

• Fortune: A large amount of money or wealth.
• King's ransom: A very large sum of money.
• Wealth: An abundance of valuable possessions or money.

Idioms and Phrases

• Not a pittance: Used to emphasize that an amount is not small or insignificant. (This is a less common, contrasting usage.)
  • The legal fees were substantial, not a pittance by any means.

Noun

1. an inadequate payment
   • they work all day for a mere pittance