quite\ a\ little

quite\ a\ little
• quite a little (bit)
• not a little formal
• quite a bit informal
noun or adj. phr.
Rather a large amount; rather much; more than a little.

We are not finished; quite a little is left to do.

Cleaning the backyard needed quite a little work.

- the phrase "quite a bit" is used like an adjective only before "less", "more".

Six inches of snow fell today, and quite a bit more is coming tonight.

- Sometimes used like an adverb.

Harry was sick quite a little last winter.

Compare: a little, a lot, quite a few

Словарь американских идиом. — СПб., Изд-во "Лань". . 1997.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • quite the little... — quite the little... spoken phrase used when you are annoyed about what someone has done and want to make it seem less important Quite the little hero, aren’t you? Thesaurus: ways of emphasizing when you are annoyed or angrysynonym Main entry:… …   Useful english dictionary

  • quite a little — or {informal}[quite a bit] also {formal}[not a little] {n.} or {adj. phr.} Rather a large amount; rather much; more than a little. * /We are not finished; quite a little is left to do./ * /Cleaning the backyard needed quite a little work./ The… …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • quite a little — or {informal}[quite a bit] also {formal}[not a little] {n.} or {adj. phr.} Rather a large amount; rather much; more than a little. * /We are not finished; quite a little is left to do./ * /Cleaning the backyard needed quite a little work./ The… …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • quite a little — noun (often followed by of ) a large number or amount or extent a batch of letters a deal of trouble a lot of money he made a mint on the stock market see the rest of the winners in our huge passel of photos it must have cost plenty a slew of… …   Useful english dictionary

  • quite\ a\ little\ bit — • quite a little (bit) • not a little formal • quite a bit informal noun or adj. phr. Rather a large amount; rather much; more than a little. We are not finished; quite a little is left to do. Cleaning the backyard needed quite a little work. the …   Словарь американских идиом

  • quite\ a\ bit — • quite a little (bit) • not a little formal • quite a bit informal noun or adj. phr. Rather a large amount; rather much; more than a little. We are not finished; quite a little is left to do. Cleaning the backyard needed quite a little work. the …   Словарь американских идиом

  • quite — [ kwaıt ] function word *** Quite can be used in the following ways: as an adverb (before an adjective or adverb): I was quite angry with her. (before a verb): I quite agree with you. I can t quite decide which dress to wear today. as a… …   Usage of the words and phrases in modern English

  • quite a bit — See: QUITE A LITTLE …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • quite a bit — See: QUITE A LITTLE …   Dictionary of American idioms

  • quite a something — ˈquite a/the sth idiom (also informal ˈquite some sth) used to show that a person or thing is particularly impressive or unusual in some way • She s quite a beauty. • …   Useful english dictionary

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