scamp

American  

[skamp] / skæmp /

noun

1. an unscrupulous and often mischievous person; rascal; rogue; scalawag.

2. a playful, mischievous, or naughty young person; upstart.

3. a grouper, Mycteroperca phenax, of Florida: so called from its habit of stealing bait.

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verb (used with object)

1. to do or perform in a hasty or careless manner.

   to scamp work.

scamp ¹ British  

/ skæmp /

noun

1. an idle mischievous person; rascal

2. a mischievous child

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scamp ² British  

/ skæmp /

verb

1. a less common word for skimp

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Other Word Forms

• scamper noun
• scampingly adverb
• scampish adjective
• scampishly adverb
• scampishness noun
• unscamped adjective

Etymology

Origin of scamp

1775–85; obsolete scamp to travel about idly or for mischief, perhaps < obsolete Dutch schampen to be gone < Old French escamper to decamp

Example Sentences

Sonny is the closest he’s come to circling back around to his breakout role in “Thelma & Louise” as a charismatic cowboy scamp.

From Los Angeles Times

For adult readers and viewers, he’s a comical scamp; to a kid, he’s an ideal.

From Los Angeles Times

He cultivated a reputation as a beloved scamp who did what he wanted.

From New York Times

To the end, he treats Bankman-Fried as sort of an endearing scamp who got in over his head, essentially by an adorable habit of inattention.

From Los Angeles Times

Hopefully, Joshua watched “The Mandalorian” when he was young, because this little scamp is going to try his patience, or, you know, annihilate existence as we know it.

From Los Angeles Times