de minimis

adjective

de min·i·mis dē-ˈmi-nə-məs

dā-ˈmē-ni-mis

Synonyms of de minimis next

: lacking significance or importance : so minor as to merit disregard

de minimis fringe benefits

what amounts to a de minimis tax increase

Did you know?

Proponents of readable prose over jargon and legalese might argue that the last thing 20th-century American jurisprudence needed was another Latin term. Yet here we have a legal term that entered English only around 1950. Perhaps we should clarify: the legal doctrine of de minimis non curat lex ("the law does not concern itself with trifling matters") has been around for a while, but use of de minimis on its own is relatively recent. At first, the shortened phrase was simply used to refer to the legal doctrine itself ("the de minimis rule"). Then it came to be used more broadly as an adjective ("de minimis contacts with the defendant"). Finally, de minimis leaked out of the courtroom and into the world at large.

Examples of de minimis in a Sentence

investors disappointed by stock dividends that were decidedly de minimis

Recent Examples on the Web

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Leaders have also been in discussions around ditching Vietnam’s version of de minimis, which allows goods valued at less than 1 million dong ($40) to skirt standard duties processes, like paying a VAT. —

Meghan Hall, Sourcing Journal, 6 Dec. 2024 About 100 countries have de minimis thresholds; the amounts differ around the world. —

Bill Chappell, NPR, 26 Nov. 2024 As Forbes retail contributor Kiri Masters writes, the de minimis law allows direct-to-consumer platforms like Temu to potentially avoid tariffs on individual shipments up to $800 per day, while traditional retailers and sellers importing in bulk would face the full impact. —

Dearbea Walker, Forbes, 26 Dec. 2024 So much of the conversation in Washington this year has revolved around restricting de minimis to contain Temu, Kaziukėnas says, but the platform has already taken significant steps to reduce its dependence on it. —

Zeyi Yang, WIRED, 26 Dec. 2024 See all Example Sentences for de minimis