Meaning & use
midget
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountableoffensiveold-fashioned
A word once used for a person of very short height, now considered insulting and best avoided.
Grammar: Avoid for people. Use little person or a person with dwarfism, or name the condition only when relevant.
The word midget is now widely seen as offensive when used about people.
Advocacy groups ask writers to say little person instead of midget.
Old films sometimes use the word midget, which modern audiences find hurtful.
adjectivebefore a nounold-fashioned
Very small compared with others of its kind, used of objects such as vehicles.
Grammar: Always before a noun and mostly in older or technical use: a midget submarine.
Patterns
- a midget submarine
The navy built a midget submarine for secret missions.
They raced midget cars on a short track.
The shop sold a midget camera that fit in a pocket.
Word forms
| plural | midgets |
|---|
Common combinations
- midget submarine
- A midget submarine slipped into the harbor.
- midget car
- Midget car racing was popular in the 1940s.
- midget camera
- The spy carried a midget camera.
- offensive term
- Midget is an offensive term for a short person.
- little person
- Little person is the term many people prefer.
Synonyms and how they differ
- little person
- Little person is the respectful, preferred term for a person with dwarfism, unlike midget, which is offensive.
- miniature
- Miniature describes something small by design, such as a model, and is neutral, unlike midget.
- tiny
- Tiny is a plain adjective for very small things and is safe to use, while midget is mostly obsolete.
- pocket-sized
- Pocket-sized describes small portable items and has no offensive meaning.
Opposites
Word family
- midgets noun
- plural form, also now offensive when used for people
- midge noun
- a tiny biting insect, the source of midget
- dwarfism noun
- a medical condition causing very short stature
- little person noun
- the preferred respectful term
Commonly confused: midget or midge?
midget vs midge
A midge is a tiny flying insect, while midget is a different word that is offensive for people.
Practice
Which choice is a respectful way to refer to a person of unusually short stature?
Choose one answer.
Little person is the term preferred by many people with dwarfism. Midget, shorty and runt are offensive or belittling.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “midget”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.