meager
AmericanSynonym Usage
See scanty.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of meager
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English megre, from Old French maigre, from Latin macer “lean”
Explanation
Meager means small and often applies to portions. Your mother may only allow you a meager serving of chocolate cake, and you may need to eat a meager serving of veggies in order to deserve that dessert. Meager doesn't mean adequate — it means not enough. People with a limited supply of food may try to subsist on meager portions. People who make a meager amount of money probably have a hard time making rent. Meager and emaciated both derive from the Old French maigre. If you can remember that you will look emaciated if your diet is meager, you’ll use the word correctly.
Vocabulary lists containing meager
List 1
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Tuck Everlasting
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"Of Mice and Men"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A flood of social media comments decried loss of sovereignty, meager benefits and political costs.
From Barron's ● Aug. 30, 2026
The cute but destructive rodents are criminal masterminds, easily circumventing humans’ meager defenses.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
In July, consumer spending rose a meager 0.2%, and it was flat after taking inflation into account.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 26, 2026
Roughly 40% of working Americans don’t have any retirement savings at all, and among those who do, their savings are too meager to support them through their retirement years.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
The next woman took her meager rations without a word, and the rest of the villagers did too.
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
