scant Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. verb work hastily or carelessly; deal with inadequately and superficially
    skimp.
  2. verb limit in quality or quantity
    skimp.
  3. verb supply sparingly and with restricted quantities
    stint; skimp.
    • sting with the allowance
  4. adjective satellite less than the correct or legal or full amount often deliberately so
    light; short.
    • a light pound
    • a scant cup of sugar
    • regularly gives short weight

WordNet

Scant adjective
Etymology
Icel. skamt, neuter of skamr, skammr, short; cf. skamta to dole out, to portion.
Wordforms
comparative Scanter ; superlative Scantest
Definitions
  1. Not full, large, or plentiful; scarcely sufficient; less than is wanted for the purpose; scanty; meager; not enough; as, a scant allowance of provisions or water; a scant pattern of cloth for a garment.
    His sermon was scant, in all, a quarter of an hour. Ridley.
  2. Sparing; parsimonious; chary.
    Be somewhat scanter of your maiden presence. Shak.
    Syn. -- See under Scanty.
Scant transitive verb
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Scanted; present participle & verbal noun Scanting
Definitions
  1. To limit; to straiten; to treat illiberally; to stint; as, to scant one in provisions; to scant ourselves in the use of necessaries.
    Where man hath a great living laid together and where he is scanted. Bacon.
    I am scanted in the pleasure of dwelling on your actions. Dryden.
  2. To cut short; to make small, narrow, or scanty; to curtail. "Scant not my cups." Shak.
Scant intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To fail, of become less; to scantle; as, the wind scants.
Scant adverb
Definitions
  1. In a scant manner; with difficulty; scarcely; hardly. Obs. Bacon.
    So weak that he was scant able to go down the stairs. Fuller.
Scant noun
Definitions
  1. Scantness; scarcity. R. T. Carew.

Webster 1913