runt
Undersized or stunted plant, animal or person.
Seen in the wild
Popular Australian author pleads guilty over child exploitation material The Jasper Jones and Runt author was arrested in January during a police raid at his Perth home.
Aren't Yusuf's parents both immigrants? Well, by his own petard let him be hoist: on the boat with 'em (and their shitty runt of a son too)!!
Happy birthday to Mischka cat, runt of his litter, first of his name, bane of spiders. Born on cinco de mayo.
Happy 20th anniversary to Mission Impossible III, the runt of the litter but a genuine classic anyway, and with the series' best villain*. PSH is incredible here.
I loveeee this for you! Diaper DEFINITELY needed, runt.
Definitions
Undersized or stunted plant, animal or person.
Sometimes, as we have seen, one member of a litter is a runt, much smaller than the rest. He is unable to fight for food as strongly as the rest, and runts often die. We have considered the conditions under which it would actually pay a …
Comments
The smallest animal of a litter.
Sometimes, as we have seen, one member of a litter is a runt, much smaller than the rest. He is unable to fight for food as strongly as the rest, and runts often die. We have considered the conditions under which it would actually pay a …
"runt" means the smallest animal of a litter. It is one of many casual words teens pick up from friends, social media, music or sport, and on its own it carries no particular warning. If you hear your teen use it, it is fair to ask what they mean by it in their friend group, since meanings drift quickly. Asking out of curiosity rather than alarm tends to keep the conversation open and useful.
"runt" is informal English meaning the smallest animal of a litter. It is used widely across English varieties. A more formal or neutral equivalent would be something like "the smallest animal of a litter" expressed in standard vocabulary. A common mistake is to assume "runt" can replace its standard equivalent in every register; keep it for spoken or casual situations and use the formal form in writing. If you are a B2 or C1 learner, it is useful to recognise this word when you hear or read it, but think carefully about whether the situation really calls for it before using it yourself.
“Aren't Yusuf's parents both immigrants? Well, by his own petard let him be hoist: on the boat with 'em (and their shitty runt of a son too)!!”
— Bluesky· May 2026“Happy birthday to Mischka cat, runt of his litter, first of his name, bane of spiders. Born on cinco de mayo.”
— Bluesky· May 2026“Happy 20th anniversary to Mission Impossible III, the runt of the litter but a genuine classic anyway, and with the series' best villain*. PSH is incredible here.”
— Bluesky· May 2026“I loveeee this for you! Diaper DEFINITELY needed, runt.”
— Bluesky· May 2026“A swarm of Ukrainian drones raining down on the Kremlin’s small dick parade would be next level. The little runt would shit himself and the world would rejoice.”
— Bluesky· May 2026
Comments
(by extension) The smallest child in the family.
the runt of the family
“Popular Australian author pleads guilty over child exploitation material The Jasper Jones and Runt author was arrested in January during a police raid at his Perth home.”
— Bluesky· May 2026“Runt, Cal's dog, is Cal's only friend, as the teenager lives a lonely life.”
“# Runt (album) Runt (album) Not to be confused with [Runt.”
“[Jump to content](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Runt#bodyContent) We owe you an explanation.”
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Slang from Black American Vernacular English (AAVE), hip-hop, drag and ballroom culture, the Caribbean, and NYC street vocabulary. The single largest source of new mainstream English slang in living memory.
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Other words near "runt" (R)
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