Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Of minor importance or scale: Used to describe something or someone that operates on a small scale, is of limited scope, or is not significant or influential.
   • Involving a low level of activity or status: Often implies a lack of success, prestige, or sophistication compared to larger or more important counterparts.

Usage

• The adjective "small-time" is typically used attributively (before a noun) to modify it. It is often hyphenated.
• It carries a slightly informal and sometimes derogatory connotation, suggesting something is minor-league, insignificant, or not very successful.
• It is commonly used to describe businesses, criminals, operations, or performers.

Examples

• Attributive use:
  • He was just a small-time crook who stole bicycles. (He was an insignificant criminal.)
  • They ran a small-time operation selling handmade crafts at the local market. (Their business was very small in scale.)
  • After years of struggle, she was tired of being a small-time actress in regional theater. (She was an actress with minor roles and little fame.)

Advanced Usage

• "Small-time" vs. "Big-time": These are often used as contrasting terms. "Big-time" refers to the highest level of success, importance, or scale in a particular field.
  • He moved from being a small-time dealer to a big-time player in the industry.

Variants and Related Words

• Small-timer (noun): A person involved in small-time activities.
  • The police caught the small-timer with a bag of stolen goods.

Synonyms

• Minor: Of lesser importance or size.
• Petty: Of little importance; trivial (often used for crimes or concerns).
• Insignificant: Too small or unimportant to be worth consideration.
• Two-bit (informal, chiefly US): Cheap or trivial; of little worth.
• Bush-league (informal, chiefly US): Amateurish, minor-league.

Antonyms

• Major: Important, significant, or large-scale.
• Big-time: Involving great success, importance, or scale.
• Significant: Sufficiently great or important to be worthy of attention.

Related Idioms and Phrases

• "Small potatoes" (idiom, informal): Someone or something insignificant or unimportant.
  • Compared to the national budget, our department's deficit is small potatoes.
  • This idiom shares a similar meaning of insignificance with "small-time."

Adjective

1. of minor importance
   • a nickel-and-dime operation run out of a single rented room
   • a small-time actor