: a mean grasping person
… a miser cackling over unexpected treasure …—
R. T. Peterson
R. T. Peterson
especially
: one who is extremely stingy with money
a miser who inherited a fortune but lives in a shack
Examples of miser in a Sentence
the miser liked to sit and play with his money
Recent Examples on the Web
Old misers working themselves into their graves, amassing money beyond what their lives require while lording power over others, were stock characters in nineteenth-century fiction.
—Samuel Moyn, Harpers Magazine, 21 Apr. 2026
The more frugal sides are decried as misers or praised for their market savvy, no matter the surrounding factors.
—Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 9 Feb. 2026
Rather than just a simple miser, this movie portrays Scrooge as more of a ruthless businessman who believes he’s justified in his actions, making the character more relatable and redemptive.
—Janey Tracey, Entertainment Weekly, 13 Dec. 2025
And while those are all central elements of the story, most people forget that the transformation of the most famous miser in literary history, Ebenezer Scrooge, hinges on an incident with a young caroler that Scrooge recalls fairly early in the 1843 novella.
—Steve Palopoli, Mercury News, 13 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for miser
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Samuel Moyn, Harpers Magazine, 21 Apr. 2026
The more frugal sides are decried as misers or praised for their market savvy, no matter the surrounding factors.
—Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 9 Feb. 2026
Rather than just a simple miser, this movie portrays Scrooge as more of a ruthless businessman who believes he’s justified in his actions, making the character more relatable and redemptive.
—Janey Tracey, Entertainment Weekly, 13 Dec. 2025
And while those are all central elements of the story, most people forget that the transformation of the most famous miser in literary history, Ebenezer Scrooge, hinges on an incident with a young caroler that Scrooge recalls fairly early in the 1843 novella.
—Steve Palopoli, Mercury News, 13 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for miser
Cite this Entry
“Miser.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/miser. Accessed 10 May. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
miser
noun
mi·ser
ˈmī-zər 
: a mean grasping person
especially
: one who lives poorly in order to store away money
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