- very small in degree
- a slight increase/change/difference
- a slight variation/improvement/advantage
- It won't make the slightest bit of difference
- There's been a slight delay, but we'll be landing in just a few minutes.
- Mexican producers may gain a slight edge in competitiveness.
- A slight smile appeared on her lips.
- I woke up with a slight headache.
- The damage was slight.
- She takes offence at the slightest thing (= is very easily offended).
- There was not the slightest hint of trouble.
- He is, without the slightest doubt, the greatest living novelist.
- He never had the slightest intention of agreeing to it.
- The picture was at a slight angle.
- A slight breeze was blowing.
Extra Examples- She smiled to hide her slight embarrassment.
- She spoke with a slight foreign accent.
- The accident had left him with a slight limp.
- The eyes of predators are highly sensitive to the slightest movement.
- The slightest touch will set off the alarm.
- There's been a slight increase in the number of unemployed in this area.
- The slightest noise will wake him.
- Unfortunately, this plate has a slight flaw in it.
- You may experience some slight discomfort after the operation.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- appear
- be
- seem
- …
- extremely
- fairly
- very
- …
- the slightest of…
- small and thin in size
- a slight woman
- He was of slight build.
- She was smaller and slighter than I had imagined.
Extra ExamplesTopics Appearancec2- She looked very slight, almost fragile.
- The slight figure of a woman emerged from the house.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryverbs- be
- look
- very
- physically
- (formal) not deserving serious attention
- This is a very slight novel.
Word OriginMiddle English; the adjective from Old Norse sléttr ‘smooth’ (an early sense in English), of Germanic origin; related to Dutch slechts ‘merely’ and German schlicht ‘simple’, schlecht ‘bad’; the verb (originally in the sense ‘make smooth or level’), from Old Norse slétta. The sense “treat with disrespect” dates from the late 16th cent.
Idioms
See slight in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee slight in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishnot in the slightest
- not at all
- He didn't seem to mind in the slightest.
- I’m not in the slightest bit interested.
Check pronunciation:
slight