Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A very small quantity or portion; a bit or mite.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A small piece; a small quantity.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A very small quantity or amount.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun a tiny or scarcely detectable amount

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Probably alteration of dialectal smitch, particle, perhaps ultimately from Middle English smite, perhaps from past participle of smiten, to smite; see smite.]

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Examples

  • Grace’s mug was filled with what she described as a smidgen of coffee and lots of half-and-half, permitted on her Atkins program.

    Two Days After the Wedding Joan Medlicott 2006

  • Grace’s mug was filled with what she described as a smidgen of coffee and lots of half-and-half, permitted on her Atkins program.

    Two Days After the Wedding Joan Medlicott 2006

  • Grace’s mug was filled with what she described as a smidgen of coffee and lots of half-and-half, permitted on her Atkins program.

    Two Days After the Wedding Joan Medlicott 2006

  • My favorite of the three by a smidgen is the 2003 Riesling Spätlese Trocken Haardter Bürgergarten “Im Aspen.”

    The World’s Greatest Wine Estates Jr. Robert M. Parker 2005

  • My favorite of the three by a smidgen is the 2003 Riesling Spätlese Trocken Haardter Bürgergarten “Im Aspen.”

    The World’s Greatest Wine Estates Jr. Robert M. Parker 2005

  • My favorite of the three by a smidgen is the 2003 Riesling Spätlese Trocken Haardter Bürgergarten “Im Aspen.”

    The World’s Greatest Wine Estates Jr. Robert M. Parker 2005

  • My favorite of the three by a smidgen is the 2003 Riesling Spätlese Trocken Haardter Bürgergarten “Im Aspen.”

    The World’s Greatest Wine Estates Jr. Robert M. Parker 2005

  • My favorite of the three by a smidgen is the 2003 Riesling Spätlese Trocken Haardter Bürgergarten “Im Aspen.”

    The World’s Greatest Wine Estates Jr. Robert M. Parker 2005

  • My favorite of the three by a smidgen is the 2003 Riesling Spätlese Trocken Haardter Bürgergarten “Im Aspen.”

    The World’s Greatest Wine Estates Jr. Robert M. Parker 2005

  • My favorite of the three by a smidgen is the 2003 Riesling Spätlese Trocken Haardter Bürgergarten “Im Aspen.”

    The World’s Greatest Wine Estates Jr. Robert M. Parker 2005

Comments

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  • A half pinch; 1/32 of a teaspoon.

    July 26, 2009

  • " His ignorance of history, his specious use of false equivalency and his absence of even a smidgen of moral sensitivity is not only embarrassing, but also quite scary."

    Source: A Moment of Bad Faith

    January 22, 2018