often attributive
1
sometimes offensive
: a person of unusually small stature (see stature sense 1)
especially
: a person whose height does not exceed 4' 10" and is typically less than 4' 5"
2
: an animal or plant much below normal size
3
folklore
: a small legendary manlike being who is usually misshapen and ugly and skilled as a craftsman
4
astronomy
: a celestial object of comparatively small mass or size: such as
a
: a star of ordinary or low luminosity
The outer layers of a swollen elderly red giant star were pouring onto the photosphere of a vigorous … yellow dwarf, something like the Sun.—
Carl Sagan
compare giant sense 4, supergiant
Carl Sagan
b
: a galaxy containing a relatively low number of stars
Harlow Shapley discovered the first examples of dwarf satellite galaxies in 1938, one in the constellation Sculptor and one in Fornax.—Astronomy
Astronomy5
: an insignificant person
a literary dwarf
dwarfishly
adverb
dwarfishness
noun
dwarfed; dwarfing; dwarfs
1
: to cause to appear smaller or to seem inferior
dwarfed by his older brother
has dwarfed the achievements of her predecessors
2
: to restrict the growth of : stunt
children dwarfed by malnutrition
: to become smaller
of a plant
: low-growing in habit
a dwarf peach tree
dwarfer forms of citrus
Synonyms
Examples of dwarf in a Sentence
Noun
Shetland ponies are the dwarfs of the horse world.
Snow White and the seven dwarfs.
Verb
shrubs dwarfed by the lack of water
Recent Examples on the Web
Robert Higgs, cleveland, 1 Feb. 2023
The dwarf variety grows to be about 5 to 7 feet, ideal for a small garden or accent in a room with limited space.
—Bryce Jones, Better Homes & Gardens, 24 Jan. 2023
Michael Green, Foreign Affairs, 19 Nov. 2024
His lawsuit against the church roughly 20 years ago was among 56 that settled for an average of $1 million — an amount dwarfing the diocese’s most recent proposal, particularly when accounting for inflation.
—Jakob Rodgers, The Mercury News, 10 Nov. 2024
Laura Helmuth, Scientific American, 24 Oct. 2024
Dwarf Conifers Just like Japanese maple, dwarf conifers such as dwarf Alberta spruce (shown here) come in a range of shapes, sizes, and colors.
—Luke Miller, Better Homes & Gardens, 18 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for dwarf 
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Noun
Emperor tamarins are dwarf monkeys with whiskers that resemble a white moustache.
—Robert Higgs, cleveland, 1 Feb. 2023
The dwarf variety grows to be about 5 to 7 feet, ideal for a small garden or accent in a room with limited space.
—Bryce Jones, Better Homes & Gardens, 24 Jan. 2023
Verb
American private sector investment in Asian countries with the region’s largest economies dwarfs that of any other country, and the United States is the primary destination for foreign direct investment from all major economies in Asia (except China).
—Michael Green, Foreign Affairs, 19 Nov. 2024
His lawsuit against the church roughly 20 years ago was among 56 that settled for an average of $1 million — an amount dwarfing the diocese’s most recent proposal, particularly when accounting for inflation.
—Jakob Rodgers, The Mercury News, 10 Nov. 2024
Adjective
Breeders can plant the trees closer together to make test plots more efficient, and boughs grafted to a dwarf rootstock start producing apples two to three years earlier than those grafted to a traditional rootstock.
—Laura Helmuth, Scientific American, 24 Oct. 2024
Dwarf Conifers Just like Japanese maple, dwarf conifers such as dwarf Alberta spruce (shown here) come in a range of shapes, sizes, and colors.
—Luke Miller, Better Homes & Gardens, 18 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for dwarf
Articles Related to dwarf
Dictionary Entries Near dwarf
Cite this Entry
“Dwarf.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dwarf. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
dwarf
1 of 2 noun
plural dwarfs
ˈdwȯ(ə)rfs 
also dwarves
ˈdwȯ(ə)rvz
also dwarves
ˈdwȯ(ə)rvz
1
sometimes offensive
: a person of unusually small stature
2
: an animal or plant that is much below normal size
3
: a small legendary being usually pictured as a deformed and ugly person
4
: a star (as the sun) that in comparison to other stars gives off an ordinary or small amount of energy and has small mass and size
dwarf
2 of 2 verb1
: to restrict the growth or development of : stunt
2
: to cause to appear smaller
Medical Definition
dwarf
1 of 2 noun
plural dwarfs
ˈdwȯ(ə)rfs
also dwarves
ˈdwȯ(ə)rvz
also dwarves
ˈdwȯ(ə)rvz
often attributive
1
sometimes offensive
: a person of unusually small stature
especially
: a person whose height does not exceed 4 feet 10 inches (1.47 meters) and is typically less than 4 feet 5 inches (1.35 meters)
2
: an animal much below normal size
dwarf
2 of 2 transitive verb
: to restrict the growth of : stunt
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