From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishminnowmin‧now /ˈmɪnəʊ $ -noʊ/ noun [countable] 1 HBFa very small fish that lives in rivers and lakes2 UNIMPORTANTan organization or company that is small and unimportant one of the minnows of the computer industry
Examples from the Corpus
minnow• The brass thought they could calm things down by throwing a few minnows to the sharks.• These jawless proto-fish were mostly quite small, the size of large minnows, and they were heavily armoured.• The Diadora League minnows could have been three up in the first 20 minutes.• Darkness is stronger and swallows them like minnows.• Picture a shallow pool with a glassy surface, and in the pool picture minnows fluttering their tail fins but otherwise stationary.• They appeared to have one law for the big boys and another for the minnows.• The bridge on State Road 46 is another good spot to catch the fish, using minnows.Origin minnow (1400-1500) Probably from an unrecorded Old English mynwe 