as in to save
to avoid unnecessary waste or expense
had to scrimp and save for years in order to be able to afford a house
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Recent Examples of scrimp
The Premier League, too, does not scrimp on its legal representation.
—
Philip Buckingham, New York Times, 19 Nov. 2025
The power went out intermittently, and families scrimped to get enough food.
—Maggie Doherty, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025
Far from the envy of the world, Britain has been scrimping by spending 37 billion pounds ($53 billion) on the health services each year, well below Germany, France and Australia, a landmark review found last year.
—Alexander Smith, NBC news, 5 Oct. 2025
But while independent vendors, including big name designers with relatively small businesses, scrimped and saved and struggled to get by without, Saks Global found the money to pay brands at the tippy top of the fashion pyramid.
—Evan Clark, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for scrimp
Philip Buckingham, New York Times, 19 Nov. 2025
The power went out intermittently, and families scrimped to get enough food.
—Maggie Doherty, New Yorker, 13 Oct. 2025
Far from the envy of the world, Britain has been scrimping by spending 37 billion pounds ($53 billion) on the health services each year, well below Germany, France and Australia, a landmark review found last year.
—Alexander Smith, NBC news, 5 Oct. 2025
But while independent vendors, including big name designers with relatively small businesses, scrimped and saved and struggled to get by without, Saks Global found the money to pay brands at the tippy top of the fashion pyramid.
—Evan Clark, Footwear News, 3 Sep. 2019
See All Example Sentences for scrimp
Recent Examples of Synonyms for scrimp
Verb
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As gas prices continue to climb across the Bay Area, lawmakers are considering a temporary suspension of the federal gas tax, an idea that could save drivers about 18 cents per gallon.—
Da Lin,
CBS News,
30 Mar. 2026
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King had saved this view, and their first decent cup of coffee, for the end of the course.—
Charles Bethea,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
Verb
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At hotels, which have been ditching items like free soaps and even bathroom doors to economize, the free breakfast is a sacred cow that some worry will not survive, increasingly seen by hotel operators as an money pit eating into the thin margins of the business.—
Kevin Williams,
CNBC,
15 Feb. 2026
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In competitive markets, companies must economize and tighten their belts when faced with rising costs.—
David S. Lapp,
Baltimore Sun,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The International Energy Agency (IEA) last week released a list of energy-conserving measures for consumers, including working from home, driving more slowly and carpooling.—
Megan Cerullo,
CBS News,
26 Mar. 2026
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People spend more time indoors away from the Sun, and efforts to conserve energy have narrowed the spectrum of indoor lighting, eliminating many red and near-infrared wavelengths.—
Lynne Peeples,
Scientific American,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
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In terms of the other remaining survivors, Jules and Nell have been spared, despite their plans to divorce, presumably because Jules has come to believe that his wife is his true soulmate.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
27 Mar. 2026
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Acreage needs could have spared most homes.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
27 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Eventually, higher fertilizer prices are likely to make food more expensive and less abundant as farmers skimp on it and get lower yields.—
Paul Wiseman,
Fortune,
29 Mar. 2026
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This is not the time to skimp on maintenance services!—
Tarot.com,
Hartford Courant,
28 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Scrimp.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/scrimp. Accessed 1 Apr. 2026.
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