1
a
of a firearm : having a small or relatively small bore
especially : having a caliber of .22 inches
a small-bore rifle
b
: of, relating to, or involving the use of small-bore firearms
small-bore ammunition
a small-bore shooting competition
2
: small in influence, importance, or scope
small-bore issues
We can—and should—expand the safety net and put aside money for housing for the poor, but we also need to stop thinking about small-bore solutions.Hank Kalet
… an anecdote painting him as a small-bore expense-account swindler.Russell Baker
Liberty is a huge breeze of a word, and in the confines of our small-bore politics, it sounds almost archaic.Jack Hitt

Examples of small-bore in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web That cooperation should not be confused with strategic partnership, but even small-bore successes would be an improvement over costly overreach. Daniel Markey, Foreign Affairs, 9 Sep. 2021 Nationwide, fewer than 0.2% of Americans live in such places as most voters live in communities where such small-bore efforts make no sense as a practical matter. Philip Elliott, TIME, 9 Oct. 2024 But soon enough, Sharon is invigorated to run a few small-bore scams of her own. Daniel D'addario, Variety, 13 Sep. 2024 Some were small-bore classics (Being John Malkovich, Election). Peter Rubin, Longreads, 9 May 2024 Although damage from the attack was relatively light, the scope of the strikes went well beyond the small-bore tit-for-tat shadow war between Iran and Israel in recent years, crossing a red line by firing weapons from Iranian territory into Israeli territory. Peter Baker, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2024 In 476 pages of complaints, prosecutors outlined in painstaking detail the small-bore corruption, which, in one case, also involved destruction of evidence — deleted text messages — and making false statements to investigators. Corey Kilgannon, New York Times, 6 Feb. 2024 Instead, the vast majority of the convictions represent small-bore cheating — or, as some defendants argue, mistakes — by individual voters, such as casting two ballots, falsifying a registration or voting even if barred by a conviction. Justin Jouvenal, Washington Post, 20 Dec. 2023 The most striking thing that emerges from his account is the mechanical and small-bore approaches of both Moscow and Washington. Robert Legvold, Foreign Affairs, 20 Apr. 2014

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'small-bore.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1833, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of small-bore was in 1833

Dictionary Entries Near small-bore

Cite this Entry

“Small-bore.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/small-bore. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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