scant

CEFRC1

/skænt/

adjective · verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    adjective

    Barely enough in amount or number.

  2. 02

    adjective

    Extra detail

    Slightly diminished; just short of the amount described.

Examples

  • The rescue team had scant evidence to locate the missing hikers.

  • The volunteer firefighters fought the blaze bravely, with scant regard for their own safety.

At a glance

Sits at C1 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
5
Synonyms
5

Also pronounced

  • /skant/

Deep Dive

adjective

Extra meanings

  1. Sparing; parsimonious; chary.

  2. Not full, large, or plentiful; scarcely sufficient; scanty; meager.

verb

Extra meaning

  1. To limit in amount or share; to stint.

More examples

In context

  • They are scant of money.

  • a scant allowance of provisions or water; a scant pattern of cloth for a garment

  • to scant someone in provisions; to scant ourselves in the use of necessaries

Synonyms

Antonyms

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The researcher had blank information to base his conclusion on, making it risky.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

adjective

Adjective and determiner from Middle English scant, from Old Norse skamt, neuter of skammr (“short”), from Proto-Germanic *skammaz (“short”), from Proto-Indo-European *(s)ḱem- (“mutilated, hornless”). Verb from Middle English scanten, from the adjective. Noun and adverb from Middle English scant, from the adjective.