# sing small

idiom

Source: https://englishreference.com/idiom/sing-small
Updated: 2026-08-10

## Meaning

To assume a humble tone.

## Examples

- He had to sing small after he made a big mistake.
- After the manager corrected his errors, he had to sing small during the meeting.
- The arrogant politician was forced to sing small once the public discovered the truth about his secret financial dealings.

## Origin

From sing and the obsolete use of small to mean softly or in a low tone. The idiom retains this sense of reduced volume, functioning as a compound of the verb and the adverbial form for a quiet fashion.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.