sparse Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. adjective satellite not dense
    thin.
    • a thin beard
    • trees were sparse

WordNet

Sparse adjective
Etymology
L. sparsus, p.p. of spargere to strew, scatter. Cf. Asperse, Disperse.
Wordforms
comparative Sparser ; superlative Sparsest
Definitions
  1. Thinly scattered; set or planted here and there; not being dense or close together; as, a sparse population. Carlyle.
  2. (Bot.) Placed irregularly and distantly; scattered; -- applied to branches, leaves, peduncles, and the like.
Sparse transitive verb
Etymology
L. sparsus, p.p. of spargere to scatter.
Definitions
  1. To scatter; to disperse. Obs. Spenser.

Webster 1913