iota

noun

io·ta ī-ˈō-tə

in sense 2 sometimes ē-ˈō-tə

Synonyms of iota next

: an infinitesimal amount : jot

did not show an iota of interest

: the 9th letter of the Greek alphabet see Alphabet Table

Did you know?

Iota and Jot

Feel free to jot this down so you don’t forget: the words iota and jot share a lot more than just a common meaning—both ultimately come from the same word. When Latin scholars transcribed the Greek name of the ninth letter of the Greek alphabet, they spelled it as either iota or jota (the letters i and j were simply variants of each other), and these spellings eventually passed into English as iota and jot. Since the Greek letter iota is the smallest letter of its alphabet, both words eventually came to be used in reference to very small things.

Examples of iota in a Sentence

there's not an iota of doubt regarding the defendant's guilt

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

There wasn’t an iota of gratitude in the TD Garden crowd for Steve Kerr, who helped lead Team USA — and three Celtics — to Olympic gold this summer. —

Danny Emerman, The Mercury News, 6 Nov. 2024 Luckily for us, an extra decade of dating means even more emotional baggage — so casting older does not reduce the mess even one iota. —

Laura Bradley, Vulture, 21 Aug. 2024 Trending on Billboard At 71, Lauper has not lost an iota of her distinctive vocal power. —

Joe Lynch, Billboard, 31 Oct. 2024 While anyone with an iota of empathy will be moved by Edith and Sébastien’s heroic effort to make the best of a horrific situation, the actual film offers little beyond its heartwarming premise. —

Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 3 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for iota