scant

1 of 3

adjective

ˈskant 

1

dialect

a

: excessively frugal

b

: not prodigal : chary

2

a

: barely or scarcely sufficient

especially : not quite coming up to a stated measure

a scant teaspoon

b

: lacking in amplitude or quantity

scant growth

3

: having a small or insufficient supply

he's fat, and scant of breath

—William Shakespeare

scantly adverb

scantness noun

scant

2 of 3

adverb

dialect

: scarcely, hardly

scant

3 of 3

verb

scanted; scanting; scants

transitive verb

1

: to provide an incomplete supply of

2

: to make small, narrow, or meager

3

: to give scant attention to : slight

4

: to provide with a meager or inadequate portion or supply : stint

Synonyms

Adjective

• sparse
• scarce

Verb

• spare
• conserve
• preserve
• stint (on)

Choose the Right Synonym for scant

meager, scanty, scant, skimpy, spare, sparse mean falling short of what is normal, necessary, or desirable.

meager implies the absence of elements, qualities, or numbers necessary to a thing's richness, substance, or potency.

a meager portion of meat

scanty stresses insufficiency in amount, quantity, or extent.

supplies too scanty to last the winter

scant suggests a falling short of what is desired or desirable rather than of what is essential.

in January the daylight hours are scant

skimpy usually suggests niggardliness or penury as the cause of the deficiency.

tacky housing developments on skimpy lots

spare may suggest a slight falling short of adequacy or merely an absence of superfluity.

a spare, concise style of writing

sparse implies a thin scattering of units.

a sparse population

Examples of scant in a Sentence

Adjective

Food was in scant supply.

She paid scant attention to the facts.

Police found scant evidence of fraud.

Verb

don't scant the peanut butter on those sandwiches!

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

While the investigation is ongoing, details remain scant. —Miami Herald, 30 Oct. 2025

The Day After Former officials and observers say there is scant evidence of any political planning for what would come next if Maduro is removed from power. —Ellie Cook, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Oct. 2025

Adverb

How come scant few of America’s leading art museums own or display his work? —Chadd Scott, Forbes, 30 May 2021

Verb

Trump captured attention his first time around, in part, by talking about issues that other candidates scanted: the threat of China, chaos at the southern border. —Nr Editors, National Review, 22 Dec. 2023

For each of the debaters, the session will provide an opportunity for attention that has scanted them during months dominated by news about Trump and his parade of indictments. —Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 23 Aug. 2023

Word History

Etymology

Adjective

Middle English, from Old Norse skamt, neuter of skammr short

First Known Use

Adjective

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adverb

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb

circa 1580, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for scant

• ant
• aunt
• cant
• chant
• gant
• lant
• pant
• plant
• quant
• rant
• sant
• slant

Kids Definition

scant

1 of 2 adjective

ˈskant 

1

a

: barely or scarcely enough

especially : not quite coming up to a certain measure

a scant cup of milk

b

: lacking in size or quantity : meager, scanty

scant growth

2

: having a small or short supply

scant of breath

scantly adverb

scantness noun

scant

2 of 2 verb

: skimp sense 1, stint