Meaning & use
itsy bitsy
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Meaning
adjectivecomparableinformalchild language
Extremely small, in a way that sounds cute or amusing.
Grammar: Can come before a noun (an itsy-bitsy spider) or after a verb (the bikini was itsy bitsy).
Patterns
- an itsy-bitsy something
- a bit itsy bitsy
An itsy-bitsy spider crawled across the kitchen window.
She wore tiny shoes with itsy-bitsy buckles.
The toy kitchen came with itsy-bitsy plates and spoons.
Common combinations
- itsy-bitsy spider
- The children sang the itsy-bitsy spider song.
- itsy-bitsy bit
- I am an itsy-bitsy bit nervous about the test.
- itsy-bitsy piece
- He gave me an itsy-bitsy piece of cake.
- itsy-bitsy bikini
- The ad showed a model in an itsy-bitsy bikini.
- itsy-bitsy details
- She noticed every itsy-bitsy detail.
- itsy-bitsy baby
- The itsy-bitsy baby yawned in her blanket.
Synonyms and how they differ
- teeny
- Teeny is also playful but a little more common and less tied to children's rhymes.
- tiny
- Tiny is the neutral standard word for very small and works in any setting, unlike itsy bitsy.
- teensy
- Teensy is nearly the same, perhaps a touch smaller, and equally informal.
- minuscule
- Minuscule is formal and describes something almost too small to see, without the cute tone.
Opposites
Word family
- itsy adjective
- a short form meaning very small
- bitsy adjective
- a short form meaning very small
- itty-bitty adjective
- another playful variant of itsy bitsy
- teeny-weeny adjective
- a similar playful phrase meaning tiny
Commonly confused: itsy bitsy or itty-bitty?
itsy bitsy vs itty-bitty
Itty-bitty means the same thing and is more common in American speech, while itsy bitsy is the version in the well-known children's rhyme.
Practice
Which word is closest in meaning to itsy bitsy?
Choose one answer.
Itsy bitsy means extremely small, like tiny. Enormous is the opposite, and ancient and sturdy describe age and strength.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “itsy bitsy”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.