PETTY definition: 1. not important and not worth giving attention to: 2. complaining too much about things that are…. Learn more.

The meaning of PETTY is having secondary rank or importance : minor, subordinate. How to use petty in a sentence.

Petty used to mean just "petite" or "small," but now it's used for things that are trivial and shouldn’t matter much. If you host world leaders and spend more time picking napkins than memorizing names, you're focused on petty things.

1. trivial; trifling; inessential: petty details. 2. of a narrow-minded, mean, or small-natured disposition or character: petty spite. 3. minor or subordinate in rank: petty officialdom. 4. (Law) law of lesser importance.

You can use petty to describe things such as problems, rules, or arguments which you think are unimportant or relate to unimportant things. He was miserable all the time and rows would start over petty things.

If you describe someone's behavior as petty, you mean that they care too much about small, unimportant things and perhaps that they are unnecessarily unkind.

Definition of petty adjective in Oxford Advanced American Dictionary. Meaning, pronunciation, picture, example sentences, grammar, usage notes, synonyms and more.

PETTY meaning: 1 : not very important or serious; 2 : relating to things that are not very important or serious