Word
dwarf
US/ˈdwɔɹf/
UK/dwˈɔːf/
Definitions
01mythology
B1 · Intermediate Countable noun Religion
n. a small, strong creature in fantasy stories who often lives underground and works with metal.
n. a member of a race of beings from Germanic folklore, typically depicted as short, bearded, and skilled in smithing.
日本語:小人※
“In the movie, the dwarf lived in a mountain and made beautiful gold jewellery.”
“The author drew heavily on Norse mythology, portraying the dwarf as a master craftsman capable of forging magical weapons for the gods.”
Antonyms
02astronomy
C1 · Advanced Countable noun Science Technical
n. a type of star that is relatively small and not very bright.
n. a star of relatively small size and low luminosity.
“Our sun is actually classified as a yellow dwarf star.”
“The white dwarf represents the final evolutionary state of stars whose mass is not high enough to become a neutron star.”
Antonyms
03to make look small
B2 · Upper Intermediate
v. to be so big that you make everything else around you look very small.
v. to cause something to appear small or insignificant by being much larger or more important.
“The new skyscraper dwarfs all the other buildings in the city.”
“The scale of the humanitarian crisis threatened to dwarf the resources currently available to the local aid agencies.”
Synonyms
04miniature
B2 · Upper Intermediate Science
adj. much smaller than the usual size for that type of plant or animal.
adj. denoting a species or variety of animal or plant much smaller than the typical size.
Español:enano
“We planted a dwarf apple tree in our small backyard because it doesn't grow too tall.”
“The gardener recommended a dwarf variety of the shrub to ensure it would not obstruct the view from the ground-floor windows.”
Antonyms
Real-World Examples
“Instead of the solar system’s ninth planet, Pluto was reclassified as a “dwarf planet,” separate from the rest.” “As stars from the dwarf galaxy entered the larger galaxy, one of them may have passed too close to the dwarf galaxy's own supermassive black hole.” Etymology
From Middle English dwergh, dwerw, dwerf, from Old English dweorg, from Proto-West Germanic dwerg, from Proto-Germanic dwergaz. Cognate with Scots droich, dwerch (“dwarf, midget”); Old High German twerc (German, Luxembourgish Zwerg (“dwarf”)); Old Norse dvergr (Danish dværg (“dwarf, midget”), Faroese dvørgur (“dwarf”), Icelandic dvergur (“dwarf”), Norwegian Bokmål dverg (“dwarf”), Norwegian Nynorsk dverg, verg (“dwarf”), Swedish dvärg (“dwarf”)); Old Frisian dwirg (Saterland Frisian Dwärch (“dwarf”), West Frisian dwerch (“dwarf”)); Middle Low German dwerch, dwarch, twerg (German Low German Dwarg (“dwarf”)); Middle Dutch dwerch, dworch (Dutch dwerg (“dwarf”)). The Modern English noun has undergone complex phonetic changes. The form dwarf is the regular continuation of Old English dweorg, but the plural dweorgas would have given rise to dwarrows and the oblique stem dweorge- would have led to dwery. These forms are sometimes found as the nominative singular in Middle English texts and in English dialects. A parallel case is that of Old English burg giving burgh, borough, burrow, bury.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Idioms
Domains
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.B2 FirstIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.5.5–6.5TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 4.0–4.572–94TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.785–944
- Frequency
- Frequent
- Level
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Updated
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QR code
englishreference.com/q/dwarf
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「日本語」 data: JMdict (EDRDG), CC BY-SA 4.0
Traducciones: Kaikki.org (Wiktionary), CC BY-SA 4.0