minnow

/ˈmɪnəʊ/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈmɪnəʊ/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈmi-(ˌ)nō/ (ame, mw)

minnow — noun

  • minnowsingular
  • minnowsplural

1. a tiny silver fish, usually only a few centimetres long, that lives in groups in

1.名詞C1
釋義

a tiny silver fish, usually only a few centimetres long, that lives in groups in shallow rivers, streams, and lakes.

例句

Christopher watched a shoal of minnows dart between smooth stones in the stream.

collocation: shoal of minnows

Mira filled the jam jar with three flicking minnows for her science project.

countable: three minnows

同義詞
  • fry

    covers the very young of any fish species, not a specific kind

  • guppy

    another small fish, but tropical and kept in home aquariums

文法句型

a minnow

minnows in [a river/lake]

用法筆記

Almost always used in the plural in everyday speech because minnows live and travel in groups; the singular appears mainly in scientific or fishing contexts.

常見錯誤

❌I saw a big minnow in the river yesterday.
✅I saw a small fish
💡maybe a roach — in the river yesterday.' — minnows are by definition tiny, so 'big minnow' sounds contradictory.

2. a small or weak company, team, or country that has very little power or success

2.名詞C2
釋義

a small or weak company, team, or country that has very little power or success when compared with the much bigger ones it competes against.

例句

The family bakery is a minnow next to the supermarket chains nearby.

typical pattern: a minnow next to/against the giants

Gita's start-up was a minnow until a major bank bought a stake.

common business context

同義詞
  • underdog

    focuses on being expected to lose; a minnow focuses on being much smaller

  • small fry

    very close in meaning; slightly more informal, often about people rather than firms

  • small player

    neutral business term without the David-and-Goliath flavour

反義詞

文法句型

a minnow + in/of [industry/league]

compared to the bigger fish/giants

用法筆記

Distinguish from sense 1: this is metaphorical, almost always used in business or sport, and typically appears alongside an explicit comparison with a bigger rival (giants, majors, top clubs).

常見錯誤

❌Our team is a minnow because we only have ten players.
✅Our team is a minnow because we are playing against the league champions.
💡the word implies a comparison with a much bigger opponent, not just a small size on its own.