/ ˈpeti; NAmE / adjective (usually disapproving )
1.
[ usually before noun ] small and unimportant
SYN minor :
petty squabbles
petty crime / theft (= that is not very serious)
a petty criminal / thief
a petty bureaucrat / official (= who does not have much power or authority, although they might pretend to)
2.
caring too much about small and unimportant matters, especially when this is unkind to other people
SYN small-minded :
How could you be so petty?
► petti·ness noun [ U ]
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WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English (in the sense small in size ): from a phonetic spelling of the pronunciation of French petit small.