Meaning & Definition of Petty in English

1. Larceny of property having a value less than some amount (the amount varies by locale)

1. Inferior in rank or status

• "The junior faculty"

• "A lowly corporal"

• "Petty officialdom"

• "A subordinate functionary"

2. (informal) small and of little importance

• "A fiddling sum of money"

• "A footling gesture"

• "Our worries are lilliputian compared with those of countries that are at war"

• "A little (or small) matter"

• "A dispute over niggling details"

• "Limited to petty enterprises"

• "Piffling efforts"

• "Giving a police officer a free meal may be against the law, but it seems to be a picayune infraction"

3. Contemptibly narrow in outlook

• "Petty little comments"

• "Disgusted with their small-minded pettiness"