small-bore
adjective
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
Hank Kalet… an anecdote painting him as a small-bore expense-account swindler.—Russell Baker
Russell BakerLiberty is a huge breeze of a word, and in the confines of our small-bore politics, it sounds almost archaic.—Jack Hitt
Jack HittExamples 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
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.
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.
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