iota

An iota is an extremely small part of something—so small that it hardly seems to matter. If your friend asks whether you're even a little bit angry and you say "not an iota," you mean you aren't angry at all. The word comes from the Greek alphabet, where "iota" is the name of a letter.

Think of trying to divide a cake into a million pieces—each piece would be just an iota of the whole. It's often used to stress that there is almost none of something, as in the phrase, "He showed not an iota of remorse." You may not hear it often in everyday conversation, but you might see it in formal writing or hear it when someone wants to make a strong point about how little of something exists.

The word "iota" refers to a very small amount—an almost imperceptible quantity. It comes from the Greek letter "iota" (ι). Over time, the name of that letter came to be used figuratively for something tiny, especially for a very small degree or amount.

You'll rarely use "iota" to describe physical things like grains of sand. Instead, it's usually used to emphasize the absence or near-absence of something abstract. For example, saying a politician "showed not an iota of concern for struggling families" means they showed absolutely no empathy. Or you might hear, "There wasn't an iota of truth in his story," meaning the account was entirely false.

Because of its formal and slightly old-fashioned feel, "iota" is often used for emphasis or to add a literary touch. It's not something you'd hear in casual conversation very often, but it can be effective when used correctly to highlight the complete lack of a quality or substance. So, if there isn't an iota of something, there is almost none of it at all.