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small stuff

American

noun

Nautical.

small cordage, as marlines, yarns, etc.

small stuff British

noun

nautical any light twine or yarn used aboard ship for serving lines, etc

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of small stuff

First recorded in 1865–70

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

We want to chase “these big things,” as he described them, but sometimes it’s the small stuff we encounter along the way that counts the most.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 31, 2025

A relaxed environment can bring the best out of players, not sweating the small stuff can give the freedom to find peak performance.

From BBC • Dec. 15, 2024

The small stuff has made a major difference at USC, where Marks is on pace to finish with the most carries in a season of any running back in Lincoln Riley’s head coaching career.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 21, 2024

Try as hard as you can not to sweat the small stuff, because it just doesn’t matter.

From Slate • Apr. 4, 2024

I guess if I can forgive Mom and Sam for all the things they do, it’s a whole lot easier to forgive other people for the real small stuff.

From "Free Lunch" by Rex Ogle

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023