Scant
/skænt/
Definitions
2 meaningsLacking in quantity; barely enough; limited.
/skænt/
Barely sufficient or adequate; small or insufficient.
There was a scant supply of water after the drought.
💡 Simply: Imagine you're making cookies and you only have a tiny bit of chocolate chips left. That's a scant amount! It means there's not much of it.
👶 For kids: Not enough.
More Examples
She paid scant attention to the warnings.
He offered scant help.
How It's Used
"The survivors had only a scant amount of food left."
"He offered scant comfort in her time of grief."
To restrict or limit something; to provide inadequately.
/skænt/
To provide someone with something in a restricted or limited way.
The company scant the staff with resources.
💡 Simply: If you only give someone a small amount of something that they really need (like water in the desert), you're scanting them.
👶 For kids: To give someone not enough.
More Examples
The miserly man scanted charity.
How It's Used
"The king scant the peasants with food."
Synonyms
From Old Norse *skammr* 'short, brief'. Related to the word 'skim'. The word developed to imply a deficiency or inadequacy in quantity.
Historically, 'scant' was used more broadly to indicate a lack or deficiency in a variety of contexts.
Memory tip
Think of a 'scant'ily dressed person – they're only wearing a small amount of clothing.