Definition of SCANT (original) (raw)

2

a

: barely or scarcely sufficient

especially : not quite coming up to a stated measure

b

: lacking in amplitude or quantity

3

: having a small or insufficient supply

He's fat, and scant of breath.—William Shakespeare

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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

The delay would affect low-income areas with scant resources and other neighborhoods facing challenges like high wildfire risk, historic structures or vulnerability to sea-level rise. —David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 May 2026 Morales lamented Idaho’s scant support for housing — particularly that the Legislature never dedicated money into Idaho’s decades-old Housing Trust Fund to directly support affordable projects. —Mark Dee may 6, Idaho Statesman, 6 May 2026

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

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 See All Example Sentences for scant

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

1565, in the meaning defined at sense 4

Time Traveler

The first known use of scant was in the 14th century