Dwarf — Defs

01 n. An animal or plant which is much below the ordinary size of its species or kind.

pl. Dwarfs ((#))

1.
An animal or plant which is much below the ordinary size of its species or kind.
2.
A diminutive human being, small in stature due to a pathological condition which causes a distortion of the proportions of body parts to each other, such as the limbs, torso, and head. A person of unusually small height who has normal body proportions is usually called a midget.
3.
A small, usually misshapen person, typically a man, who may have magical powers; mythical dwarves were often depicted as living underground in caves.(Folklore)

Phrases & compounds

Dwarf elder — danewort.

Dwarf wall — a low wall, not as high as the story of a building, often used as a garden wall or fence.

02 v. t. To hinder from growing to the natural size; to make or keep small; to stunt.

imp. & p. p. Dwarfed; p. pr. & vb. n. Dwarfing

1.
To hinder from growing to the natural size; to make or keep small; to stunt.
“Even the most common moral ideas and affections . . . would be stunted and dwarfed, if cut off from a spiritual background.” — J. C. Shairp.

03 v. i. To become small; to diminish in size.

1.
To become small; to diminish in size.
“Strange power of the world that, the moment we enter it, our great conceptions dwarf.” — Beaconsfield.