petite
/pəˈtiːt/adjective, noun
petite is spelled P-E-T-I-T-E: 6 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 2.7 times per million words in written English, the 16,455th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, petite means “Fairly short and of slim build” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in petite?
| Letters | 6: P-E-T-I-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 2.7 times per million words; the 16,455th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is petite?
Petite appears 2.7 times per million words in written English, the 16,455th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce petite?
- /pəˈtiːt/
Petite has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-petite.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of petite
- more petite comparative
- most petite superlative
- petites plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does petite mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Fairly short and of slim build.
- 2
Of small size; intended for small-framed adult women.
- 3
Small, little; insignificant; petty.
noun
- 1
A mutant first discovered in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, forming small colonies when grown in the presence of fermentable carbon sources such as glucose.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Petite in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense Of a woman: fairly short and of slim build:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | menue |
| German | zierlich, zart gebaut |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does petite come from?
Borrowed from French petite f, feminine of petit m (“small, little”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).