scant

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 of scant

• spare
• conserve
• preserve
• stint (on)

Examples of scant in a Sentence

don't scant the peanut butter on those sandwiches!

Recent Examples on the Web

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

For one, most victims do not trust the justice system, which leads to scant reporting. —Lenore Anderson, ELLE, 7 Nov. 2022

There were few roads or trails or even paths to follow and scant potable water, but plenty of pit vipers and tarantulas. —Ellen Ruppel Shell, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Apr. 2022

Word History

First Known Use

1565, in the meaning defined at sense 4

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